ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Equality

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many publications his Department has produced for the purposes of monitoring or promoting staff equality and diversity in each of the last five years; and what the cost of producing such publications was in each such year.

Dan Rogerson: DEFRA has published a total of 11 reports for the purposes of monitoring or promoting staff equality and diversity, as shown in the following table for each of the last five years. There were no external publishing costs as all material is compiled by DEFRA staff and published on the DEFRA public website.
	
		
			  Publications 
			 2009 Workforce Monitoring Report 
			  DEFRA Diversity Strategy Updated Report 
			  DEFRA Equality Schemes Progress Report 
			 Total 3 publications (archived) 
			   
			 2010 Workforce Monitoring Report 
			 Total 1 publication (archived) 
			   
			 2011 Workforce Monitoring Report 
			 Total 1 publication (archived) 
			   
			 2012 Completed Equality Impact Assessments (archived) 
			  DEFRA Equality Objectives Report 2012-2016 
			 Total 2 publications 
			   
			 2013 Workforce Monitoring Report 
			  Updated Public Sector Equality Duty Objectives Report 
			  DEFRA Diversity Strategy and cross-cutting action plans 
			 Total 3 publications 
			   
			 January 2014 Workforce Monitoring Report 
			 Total 1 publication to date 
		
	
	Recent publications from 2012 onwards are shown at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-environment-food-rural-affairs/about/equality-and-diversity
	Archived equality and diversity publications are available at:
	http://archive.defra.gov.uk/corporate/about/how/diversity/docs/equality-progress-2009.pdf
	http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/*/http:/www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/about/how/diversity/
	http://archive.defra.gov.uk/corporate/about/how/diversity/gender/index.htm

Flood Control

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will establish a Royal Commission to examine long-term measures to tackle flooding caused by climate change.

Dan Rogerson: holding answer 27 February 2014
	The Government does not intend to establish a Royal Commission to look at this issue. At the moment, our main focus is on supporting affected communities, but once the effects of the flooding have been addressed we will of course look at what lessons need to be learned. To oversee this work, the Prime Minister has established a new Cabinet Committee on Floods to co-ordinate strategic long-term plans on flood recovery and flood resilience.
	Last year, the Government published the first National Adaption Programme which set out a wide range of actions to address the most significant climate risks we face as a country, including the risk of flooding. This was informed by the UK's first Climate Change Risk Assessment which was published in 2012.

Floods: Derby

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will take steps to provide funding for the Derby City flood defence project Our River Our City.

Dan Rogerson: holding answer 26 February 2014
	The allocation of flood grant in aid is administered by the Environment Agency. Decisions regarding the allocation of funding to individual schemes are made by the Regional Flood and Coastal Committees and not the Secretary of State.
	The Derby 'Our City, Our River' Flood Alleviation Scheme (FAS) has the following indicative allocation of flood grant in aid funding shown in the published medium term plan:
	
		
			  Allocation of FDGiA (£) 
			 Pre 2013-14 886,000 
			 2013-14 347,000 
			 2015-16 7,215,000 
			 2016-17 7,001,000 
			 2017-18 1,619,000 
		
	
	In addition to the indicative allocations above, £6 million in Growth funding has currently been allocated for Derby City FAS across 2013-14 and 2014-15.
	Release of funding is subject to the satisfactory scrutiny of the outline and full business case for the scheme. The outline business case is currently undergoing review by the Environment Agency.

Floods: Property Development

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how his Department assesses the effectiveness of sustainable drainage solutions in ensuring that other properties are not adversely affected by water run-off from new developments; and if he will make a statement.

Dan Rogerson: DEFRA does not assess the effectiveness of sustainable drainage solutions. Lead local flood authorities are required to develop strategies to tackle local flood risks. Schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010, when implemented, will contain National Standards for the design, construction, maintenance and operation of sustainable drainage systems (SuDS). The SuDS approving bodies within local authorities will be responsible for applying these standards. We intend to lay the implementing secondary legislation in April.

Maternity Pay

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the standard level and duration is of contractual maternity pay paid to civil servants in his Department.

Dan Rogerson: Core DEFRA employees who have completed one year's service by the start of their maternity leave, intend to return to work after their maternity leave and intend to complete at least one month’s service on their return, will be paid their full salary for the first 26 weeks of their maternity leave.

Meat: Ritual Slaughter

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 14 August 2013, Official Report, column 114W, on meat: slaughter, whether he has received the report of the EU Commission study on the methods of slaughter labelling; and what steps he plans to take following that study.

George Eustice: The report from the Commission on method of slaughter labelling is still awaited. Once the report is published I will be looking at options for providing information to consumers.

Rivers: Dredging

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will introduce derogations from the current licensing regime for dredging (a) main and (b) non-main rivers.

Dan Rogerson: I have no plans to introduce derogations for dredging in main rivers or other watercourses under the current consenting regimes.
	The Government is proposing to take powers through the Water Bill to extend the Environmental Permitting framework to the Environment Agency's flood defence consents. In future, watercourse maintenance activities could qualify for simple standard-rules permits or, in some cases, be exempt from consent requirements subject to registration and compliance with standard conditions. Lessons learned from the seven ongoing River Maintenance Pilots will inform work on drawing up new national permits and exemptions. We plan to consult on our detailed proposals later in 2014.

Seas and Oceans: Special Areas of Conservation

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what depth his Department uses when defining the term deep-sea to determine which areas require special conservation measures; and what steps the Government is taking to (a) protect deep-sea species and habitats and (b) end the most destructive fishing gears at those depths.

George Eustice: Rather than a specific depth criterion, the UK Government prefers a spatial approach to protect deep sea species and habitats. In effect this would mean limiting fishing activities to within the established fishing footprint; and protecting sensitive habitats within it by closing areas with known vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs), or a high probability of them, to bottom fishing gears.
	Vessel monitoring systems enable satellite monitoring to be precisely undertaken, making it possible to spatially manage the established fishing footprint and sensitive habitats within it effectively.

Slaughterhouses

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the number of animals (a) slaughtered in the UK and (b) exported abroad for slaughter in each of the last 10 years.

George Eustice: The numbers of animals slaughtered in the UK over the past 10 years are shown in the following table, along with the number of live animals exported from the UK, taken from HMRC data.
	Trade statistics as gathered by HM Revenue and Customs are classified such that it is not always clear whether exported live animals are destined for slaughter or for the breeding herd/flock. Therefore, the cases where the animal is obviously intended for further breeding have been removed to give our best estimates.
	
		
			 Thousand head 
			  Cattle and calves Sheep and lambs Pigs 
			  Slaughtered in UK Live exports1 Slaughtered in UK Live exports1 Slaughtered in UK2 Live exports1 
			 20043 2,393.2 0 15,492.1 12 9,390.0 41 
			 2005 2,412.6 0 16,284.1 0 9,173.0 36 
			 2006 2,644.5 2 16,413.8 13 9,096.6 68 
			 2007 2,661.3 4 15,803.8 1 9,483.7 56 
			 2008 2,631.8 5 16,696.9 45 9,426.8 8 
			 2009 2,512.9 0.11 15,600.2 78 9,030.8 0.39 
			 20103 2,759.5 0 14,288.8 54 9,410.8 0 
			 2011 2,837.9 0 14,477.4 87 9,812.7 3 
		
	
	
		
			 2012 2,680.7 0 13,746.0 64 10,299.3 1 
			 2013 2,625.1 0.02 14,516.1 86 10,301.7 0.04 
			 1 Live export numbers exclude pure-bred animals for breeding 2 2010 and 2011 UK slaughtering numbers exclude Sows and Boars. The data were provided by a very small number of companies so would be disclosive. 3 These were ‘53 week’ years as data are collected using the statistical week calendar. Note: All 2013 data is provisional and subject to amendment. Source: HM Revenue and Customs (export data), DEFRA Livestock Statistics slaughterhouse survey (slaughterings data)

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Energy: Prices

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 4 February 2014, Official Report, column 239, on energy company charges, what estimate his Department has made of the amount of money suppliers have in credit as a result of direct debit overpayments.

Michael Fallon: Information held by this Department on the amount of credit held by supply companies in their customers' direct debit accounts was provided on a commercially confidential basis.

Energy: Prices

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 4 February 2014, Official Report, column 239, on energy company charges, what estimate his Department has made of the number of customers who are in credit to their supplier.

Michael Fallon: Information held by this Department on the number of customers who have a credit balance on their direct debit energy accounts was provided on a commercially confidential basis.

Energy: Prices

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 4 February 2014, Official Report, column 239, on energy company charges, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of suppliers' policies on refunding credit on consumer accounts in surplus.

Michael Fallon: While all supply companies are required to refund a customer's credit on request unless there are reasonable grounds for refusing which must be then be clearly explained, some set a level of credit that had to be reached before customers received an automatic refund.
	Following negotiations, the following supply companies—E.ON, Edf Energy, Npower, British Gas, SSE and First Utility—will introduce arrangements to automatically issue refunds to customers if they have a credit balance over a minimum threshold (varying up to £10) at the end of 12-month direct debit arrangement.

Energy: Prices

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 4 February 2014, Official Report, column 239, on energy company charges, if he will make it his policy to require suppliers to refund credit on customer accounts.

Michael Fallon: Following negotiations, I am pleased to confirm that the following supply companies—E.ON, Edf Energy, Npower, British Gas, SSE and First Utility—will introduce arrangements to automatically issue refunds to customers if they have a credit balance over a minimum threshold (varying up to £10) at the end of 12-month direct debit arrangement. I hope other suppliers will follow.

Energy: Prices

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 29 January 2014, Official Report, column 575W, on energy: prices, what estimate his Department has made of the number of non-domestic customers on non-tariff contracts with their energy supplier.

Michael Fallon: The Department does not hold this information.
	In the consultation paper ‘Proposals for non-domestic automatic rollovers and contact Renewals’, published on 14 February 2014, Ofgem estimate that for gas, of 0.55 million gas meter points supplied to micro-business customers 11% are on deemed or out-of-contract rates. For electricity, of 1.6 million electricity meter points supplied to micro-business customers 10% are on deemed or out-of-contract rates.

Energy: Prices

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 29 January 2014, Official Report, column 575W, on energy: prices, what estimate his Department has made of the number non-domestic customers on fixed-price deals.

Michael Fallon: The Department does not hold this information.
	In the consultation paper ‘Proposals for non-domestic automatic rollovers and contact Renewals’, published on 14 February 2014, Ofgem estimate that for gas, of 0.55 million meter points supplied to micro-business customers 74% are on fixed-term contracts. For electricity, of 1.6 million electricity meter points supplied to micro-business customers 81% are on fixed-term contracts.

Equality

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many publications his Department has produced for the purposes of monitoring or promoting staff equality and diversity in each of the last five years; and what the cost of producing such publications was in each such year.

Gregory Barker: The Department has produced the following publications for the purpose of monitoring or promoting staff equality and diversity in each of the last five years:
	2009
	No publication.
	2010
	The Department of Energy and Climate Change Equality and Diversity Strategy including the DECC Single Equality Scheme.
	Yr Adran Ynni a Newid Hinsawdd: Strategaeth Cydraddoldeb ac Amrywiaeth gan gynnwys Cynllun Cydraddoldeb Sengl DECC.
	DECC equality and diversity statement by Moira Wallace, Permanent Secretary.
	2011
	The DECC Welsh Language Scheme consultation: summary of responses and government response.
	2012
	The Department of Energy and Climate Change Equality, diversity and inclusion strategy and action plan
	The Department of Energy and Climate Change Equality Objectives 2012-13.
	2013
	The DECC Equality Information Report 2013.
	2014
	The DECC Equality Information Report 2014.
	There were no costs in producing the documents listed.

Forests

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will place in the Library a copy of the Business Case for the Government's financial support to the Sustainable Forest Landscapes facility of the World Bank's Biocarbon Fund.

Gregory Barker: In line with the UK Government's International Aid Transparency commitment, we aim to publish all successful business cases online within three months of approval. Business cases are located under case studies in International Carbon Fund section of the gov.uk website and I will be placing in the Libraries of the House a copy of the document.

Fuel Poverty

Stephen Gilbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many (a) energy company obligation, (b) affordable warmth and (c) green deal grants have been accessed in (i) TR and (ii) PL postcode areas in each year since 2012.

Gregory Barker: Data for the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) are currently available at local authority and parliamentary constituency level. We do not publish data at postcode level. However, the TR and PL postcode areas are mainly within Cornwall unitary authority area and the Green Deal and ECO quarterly Official Statistics release includes breakdowns by both administrative area and parliamentary constituency for the provisional number of ECO measures by obligation, including Affordable Warmth, up to the end of September 2013. See Tables 1.10a and 1.10b at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/green-deal-energy-company-obligation-eco-and-insulation-levels-in-great-britain-quarterly-report-to-september-2013
	The next quarterly Official Statistics release, covering activity up to the end of December 2013, is planned for publication on 20 March 2014.
	Green Deal is not a grant regime. Green Deal Finance Plans are one element of the scheme and DECC will publish geographic breakdowns of Green Deal Plans as the programme becomes more established.

Fuel Poverty: Essex

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the number of individuals who have been removed from fuel poverty as a result of the Energy Companies Obligation in (a) Essex and (b) Chelmsford constituency.

Gregory Barker: The Affordable Warmth and Carbon Saving Communities element of ECO are targeted at low income households and areas. They play a vital role in tackling the principal cause of fuel poverty—energy inefficient housing. However, we cannot estimate the number of individuals or households removed from fuel poverty as a result of the Energy Company Obligation on a regional or constituency basis.
	We do, however, publish ECO delivery data by administrative area (including Essex) and by constituency (including Chelmsford) on a quarterly basis. The most recent report, from December 2013, relates to ECO delivery up to the end of September 2013. This report and future updates are hosted on the ECO and Green Deal statistics website:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/green-deal-and-energy-company-obligation-eco-statistics

Green Deal Scheme

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer of 16 October 2013, Official Report, column 754W, on the Green Deal scheme, how much of the £200 million allocated to the Green Deal in November 2011 was budgeted for (a) 2011-12, (b) 2012-13, (c) 2013-14, (d) 2014-15 and (e) 2015-16;
	(2)  how much of the £200 million allocated to the Green Deal in November 2011 was spent in (a) 2011-12, (b) 2012-13 and (c) 2013-14 to date.

Gregory Barker: Of the £200 million announced in November 2011, £30 million was allocated to 2012-13 and £170 million to 2013-14. As of the end of January 2014, £55.2 million had been spent by DECC, £28.9 million in 2012-13 and £26.3m million in 2013-14 (including £21.75 million transferred to Scotland and Wales under the Barnet Consequential Settlement). We have also allocated up to £80 million to the Green Deal Communities scheme in 2013-14 and announced increases in the value of our cashback incentives on 18 February 2014 with applications to be accepted up to 30 June 2014. In addition, as part of the autumn statement, the Government has announced that £540 million will be made available to support energy efficiency improvements over the next three years.

Maternity Pay

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the standard level and duration is of contractual maternity pay paid to civil servants in his Department.

Gregory Barker: Department of Energy and Climate Change employees who meet the following eligibility criteria will receive contractual maternity pay for 26 weeks at their normal rate of pay. To qualify an employee will need to:
	meet the eligibility criteria for statutory maternity pay;
	be in paid service with the Department and have at least one year's service by the 4th week before their expected week of child birth or by the time they start their maternity leave (service in another Government Department will count if it immediately precedes service in the Department);
	they should not be employed on a casual, standby or short notice appointment or a fixed term contract of less than one year;
	undertake in writing to return to the civil service after their maternity leave for a minimum of one calendar month.

Natural Gas: Disconnections

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate his Department has made of the number of properties that have disconnected from the gas grid in each of the last 10 years.

Michael Fallon: Ofgem monitors and publishes information about the disconnection of domestic gas and electricity supplies due to debt in its Social Obligations Annual Reports. Ofgem does not publish data about other reasons for disconnection. The following table, based on Ofgem's reports, show the number of domestic disconnections for gas supplies by each supplier from 2005-12. Data for 2013 are not yet available.
	
		
			 Disconnection of gas supplies 
			 Supplier 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 
			 Atlantic 5 48 — — — — — — — — 
			 British Gas 12,275 3 14 2 0 8 37 0 0 0 
			 Co-op — — — — — — — — 0 0 
			 Countrywide 0 0 0 1 0 — — — — — 
			 EON 212 830 499 644 928 445 0 0 5 46 
			 Ecotricity — — — — — — — 0 0 3 
			 Edf Energy 897 451 459 526 878 975 474 234 0 0 
			 First Utility — — — — 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Gas Plus — — — — 2 77 111 25 33 22 
			 Npower 185 296 665 1637 2343 360 61 81 69 4 
			 Ovo — — — — — — — 0 0 0 
			 SSE 558 666 473 593 728 335 98 66 179 2 
			 Scottish Power 380 259 199 454 848 799 1,013 407 42 25 
			 Spark — — — — — — — 0 0 0 
			 Telecom plus 0 0 0 2 — — — — — — 
			 TXU 1,566 — — — — — — — — — 
			 Utilita — — — — 0 0 0 0 1 0 
			 Total 16,078 2,663 2,308 3,859 5,727 2,999 1,794 813 329 102 
		
	
	Existing supply licence obligations and an industry Code of Practice provide protection for consumers in debt, for example suppliers must not disconnect a domestic premises during October to March if they know or have reason to believe that the customer is of pensionable age and lives alone, or only lives with other pensioners or children under the age of 18.

Nurseries

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many workplace nurseries (a) directly operated by his Department and (b) operated by a third party on his Department's property there were at (i) 5 May 2010 and (ii) 5 February 2014; and how many such nurseries are expected to cease operating in (A) 2014-15 and (B) 2015-16.

Gregory Barker: Since its establishment in 2008, the Department of Energy and Climate Change has had no workplace nurseries that are: (a) directly operated by the Department, and (b) operated by a third party on the Department's property.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Electoral Register: Second Homes

Stephen Gilbert: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate he has made of (a) how many and (b) what proportion of UK second home owners who will register to vote online at an address at which they are not primarily resident under individual electoral registration proposals.

Greg Clark: This information is not held centrally.
	It is for the local electoral registration officer to decide whether a voter may be said to be resident at an address, and therefore eligible to be registered.
	Electoral registration officers are required to consider each individual case on its own merits in line with Electoral Commission Guidance.

TRANSPORT

Driving: Licensing

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent steps he has taken against unofficial websites offering government services relating to the application for driving licences.

Stephen Hammond: Cabinet Office Government Digital Service (GDS) is leading a cross-government exercise about the operation of third-party websites which offer services associated with official government transactions, including driving licence applications.
	The Minister for Civil Society, my hon. Friend the Member for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner (Mr Hurd), and the Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries, my hon. Friend the Member for Wantage (Mr Vaizey), are meeting with Google shortly to discuss its terms and conditions for advertising the services offered by these third party websites. GDS will also engage with other internet search engine providers about this issue.

Equality

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many publications his Department has produced for the purposes of monitoring or promoting staff equality and diversity in each of the last five years; and what the cost of producing such publications was in each such year.

Stephen Hammond: Nine equality monitoring reports were published for each of the four financial years ending 2011-12. These reports covered the Centre (DfTc), each of the Executive agencies and a corporate report which summarised the data contained in the other reports. Eight reports were published in 2012-13 because the Government Car and Despatch Agency had been absorbed into the centre.
	The costs for each of the last five financial years were:
	
		
			  £ 
			 2012-13 93,153 
			 2011-12 95,900 
			 2010-11 99,973 
			 2009-10 84,781 
			 2008-09 78,753

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what reasons he approved the High Speed 2 route via Crewe rather than via Stoke-on-Trent; and if he will publish the quantitative and comparison data on both options.

Robert Goodwill: HS2 Ltd set out route, station and depot options for Phase Two of HS2 in their March 2012 reports, including why alternative options were not taken forward to later stages of the process. The options for serving Stoke-on-Trent directly were considered in these reports and were discarded due to engineering complexities and a lack of demand for an intermediate station in this location.
	This led to the preferred route for Phase Two that was subject of a recent consultation. This consultation closed at the end of January and we are now considering responses ahead of announcing a decision on Phase Two by the end of the year.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport with reference to his speech to the National Rail conference on 29 October 2013, entitled Why HS2 will spread prosperity, what alternative options his Department considered to free up rail capacity; and for what reasons it has been decided that High Speed 2 will be the most cost-effective and economically beneficial way to free up capacity as opposed to (a) double-decker carriages and (b) other capacity increasing options.

Robert Goodwill: Since 2010 the Department has considered a wide range of alternative options to a high speed railway including the use of alternative modes, a conventional speed line and upgrades to the existing rail network.
	Our most recent assessment of alternatives focussed on enhancements to the existing rail network since these are the closest in delivering capacity and journey time improvements comparable to those of HS2. The alternative schemes delivered lower benefits than HS2, failed to deliver sufficient additional capacity, could not offer a robust solution to the problem of poor performance and would significantly disrupt services on the existing rail network.

M25

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish the risk assessments submitted from the (a) Highways Agency and (b) Metropolitan police on the proposal for a hard shoulder running on the M25 between junctions 23 and 27.

Robert Goodwill: For the all-lane running scheme on the M25 between junctions 23 and 27 the risk-based approach used to determine the expected safety performance will be published on the Highways Agency's website.
	The Highways Agency does not have the authority to publish risk assessments on behalf of the Metropolitan police. They will need to be contacted directly.

M25

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what risk assessment was carried out on the proposal for a motorway hard shoulder running on the M25 between junctions 23 and 27; and if he will make a statement.

Robert Goodwill: For the proposed all-lane running scheme on the M25 between junctions 23 and 27 a risk assessment has been carried out that considered the operational risks to the road user and road worker. This methodology was successfully developed on the M42 Active Traffic Management pilot scheme that has been open to traffic since 2006.
	The assessment shows that the all-lane running design is likely to provide safety benefits over and above those on a basic three lane motorway.
	The assessment shows that no road users will be disproportionately adversely affected and the risk to all users remains tolerable.

Railways: Disability

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is to ensure that rail companies and station operators are improving access for disabled passengers.

Stephen Hammond: Network Rail and the train operating companies are required to have a disabled persons' protection policy setting out the services they will provide for disabled passengers, including staff assistance and provision of an accessible taxi for anyone who cannot access a particular station. If they carry out infrastructure work at a station they must also meet the EU and domestic standards set out in "Accessible Train Station Design: A Code of Practice" (DfT, 2011). Failure to meet these standards can lead to enforcement action by the Office of Rail Regulation. We also allocate around £7 million a year to operators under the Access for All Small Schemes Programme, which has funded accessibility improvements at more than 1,100 stations since 2006.

Railways: Franchises

Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has under the new Thameslink Great Northern Franchise to ensure that refunds are processed automatically for any rail tickets purchased by credit or debit card.

Stephen Hammond: The Invitation to Tender (ITT) for the TSGN franchise, published on 26 September 2013, does not state that refunds are processed automatically for any rail tickets purchased by credit or debit card. However, under section 5.6.3 of the ITT the bidders are required to
	“maintain a consistently high standard of ticket retailing service”,
	and
	“provide a range of ticket products and ticket retailing solutions that meets the needs of customers including those who may not be conversant with, or have access, to new technology”.
	In addition, credit would be available to bidders as part of the quality assessment for exceeding these requirements, with, for example
	“improvements to the overall ticket retail experience”.

Railways: Graffiti

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the annual cost to Network Rail is of the removal of graffiti from its property.

Stephen Hammond: As a private sector company limited by guarantee, graffiti removal has been an operational matter for Network Rail. The company has extensive landholdings and advises that it currently spends around £3.5 million a year on graffiti removal.

Railways: South West

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for how many days the (a) Exeter St Davids to Tiverton Parkway, (b) Exeter St Davids to Salisbury, (c) Taunton to Bristol Temple Meads, (d) Plymouth to Newton Abbot, (e) Exeter St Davids to Newton Abbot and (f) Plymouth to Penzance railway lines were closed in each of the last five years.

Stephen Hammond: This is not information that is held by the Department for Transport. This is a matter for Network Rail, who own and operate Britain's rail network.

Roads: Graffiti

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the annual cost is to the Highways Agency of the removal of graffiti from its property.

Robert Goodwill: The Highways Agency does not separately identify the exact annual cost of removing graffiti from its property as this activity forms part of a wider contracted service which includes a number of other general maintenance activities.

Rolling Stock

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the total cost of rolling stock for double-decker carriages on the (a) West Coast Main Line and (b) High Speed 2.

Robert Goodwill: The most recent cost estimate for rolling stock on the High Speed 2 network is £7.5 billion, which includes contingency of £1.7 billion. This estimate is based on discussions with a range of rolling stock manufacturers and is not specific to any particular type of train.
	The Department has not made an estimate of the costs of double deck carriages on the West Coast Main Line. Before such trains could be used on the West Coast Mainline, the route (including diversionary routes) would need to be gauge cleared to allow sufficient space for the trains to operate. This would involve raising all overhead wires, raising bridges, modifying platforms on the route, modifying station canopies, moving or raising all signal gantries and other signage on the route, and lowering track in the tunnels. Work would need to be carried out to modify existing depots or to provide new ones. Additional works would also be required to enable line speeds to be maintained on the route. The extent of the works and the cost would depend on the kind of trains used.

West Coast Railway Line

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the cost to (a) lower the tracks to accommodate double-decker carriages on the West Coast Main Line and (b) heighten tunnels, bridges and catenary where appropriate.

Robert Goodwill: The Department has not estimated the cost of modifying infrastructure on the West Coast Main Line to accommodate double-decker trains.
	In the 2010 Strategic Alternatives Strategic Outline Business Case Atkins reviewed a long-list of potential interventions, including operation of double-decker trains on the WCML. The option was ruled out as train lengthening was thought likely to deliver similar outputs at lower cost and with less disruption.
	Before double deck trains could be used on the West Coast Mainline, the route (including diversionary routes) would need to be gauge cleared to allow sufficient space for the trains to operate. This would involve raising the overhead wires for the entire route, raising bridges, modifying platforms on the route, modifying station canopies, moving or raising all signal gantries and other signage on the route, and lowering track in the tunnels. Work would need to be carried out to modify existing depots or to provide new ones.
	Additional works would also be required to enable line speeds to be maintained on the route, such as straightening sections of track where fast trains currently tilt. The extent of the works and the cost would depend on the kind of trains used.

West Coast Railway Line

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many extra seats would be created (a) in total and (b) as a proportion of current passenger capacity if double-decker carriages were installed on the West Coast Main Line.

Robert Goodwill: The Department has not carried out an assessment of how many extra seats would be created if double-decker trains were operated on the West Coast Main Line. Before such trains could be used on the West Coast Mainline, the route (including diversionary routes) would need to be gauge cleared to allow sufficient space for the trains to operate.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Arts: Essex

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much arts funding (a) in total and (b) per head of population was allocated in (i) Essex and (ii) Chelmsford constituency in each year since 2010.

Edward Vaizey: Arts Council England makes its funding decisions independently of Government and as such we do not hold the information requested. Nearly £3 billion pounds will be invested in the Arts over the lifetime of this Parliament. Local government funding for the arts is a matter for local authorities and my Department does not hold information on individual local authority spend.

Food: Advertising

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessments she has made of the proportion of food brands sold in the UK that have adver-gaming as part of their digital platforms.

Edward Vaizey: DCMS has made no such assessment. Adver-gaming is regulated under the UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising, Sales Promotion and Direct Marketing (the CAP code, administered independently by the Advertising Standards Authority). On 25 February 2014 the Advertising Standards Authority/CAP announced new measures to ensure that food advertising remains responsible. These include a comprehensive literature review of the impact of digital and online marketing of food and drink products to children. The Advertising Standards Authority will also carry out a survey of food advertisements, with a focus on online, to assess whether there are any problem areas and will take action to bring advertising that breaks the rules into line.

UK Sport

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether she requires UK Sport to provide equality assessments of its funding decisions.

Helen Grant: UK Sport funding decisions are based on its Investment Principles, which can be found here:
	http://www.uksport.gov.uk/pages/investment-principles/

DEFENCE

Armed Forces: Floods

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) full-time service personnel, (b) reservists and (c) recruits from each of the three armed services have been deployed since 1 February 2014 to support rescue and prevention work following the recent flooding and storms.

Anna Soubry: The overall name for the Ministry of Defence's (MOD) support to civil authorities following the recent severe weather is Operation Pitchpole. At the peak of Op Pitchpole, 16 February 2014, the number of military personnel on task was as follows:
	
		
			  Regular Reservists Recruits Total 
			 RN 1,050 0 235 1,285 
			 ARMY 2,704 147 0 2,851 
			 RAF 851 0 0 851 
			  — — — 4,987 
		
	
	The definition of ‘on task’ includes all personnel at ‘notice to move’ (allocated to the Operation but not employed on specific tasks) and those deployed on visible tasks.

Burma

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 3 February 2014, Official Report, column 6, on the Burmese army, what discussions he has had with the Burmese army on (a) investigations into alleged human rights abuses by the army and (b) the need to secure accountability.

Anna Soubry: Human rights and accountability were two of the major themes of the Managing Defence in the Wider Security Context course that the UK Defence Academy delivered to members of the Tatmadaw (Burmese Military) in January this year.
	Since the beginning of 2014, there have been a number of meetings between senior UK representatives and military chiefs during which a range of issues were discussed. During his most recent trip to Burma, the Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), lobbied both the Commander in Chief of the Burmese Army and the Kachin Northern Commander on human rights. On each occasion, our Defence Attaché has been present at those meetings.

Cyprus

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made on the number of birds illegally killed on the British sovereign base area of Dhekelia in 2013.

Anna Soubry: BirdLife of Cyprus recently provided the Sovereign Base Areas Administration with their report for autumn 2013 on illegal bird trapping activity in Cyprus. Countering illegal bird trapping activity is one of the key priorities of the Sovereign Base Areas Administration and the Sovereign Base Areas Police and this is stated in the Chief Constable's annual report and strategic plan. Police enforcement action has resulted in 132 arrests over the last four years and seizure of large quantities of equipment.

Cyprus

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what area of invasive acacia tree was removed from his Department's land at Cape Pyla in the Cyprus sovereign base area of Dhekelia in each of the last three years.

Anna Soubry: No acacia tree has been removed at Cape Pyla in any of the last three years.

Cyprus

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the street value of the birds illegally killed on the British sovereign base area of Dhekelia in 2013.

Anna Soubry: Within the Sovereign Base Areas there are no restaurants selling illegally trapped birds, but where there is demand elsewhere we understand that the commercial street value of such birds is approximately €50-60 a dozen. Countering the illegal bird trapping activity is one of the key priorities of the Sovereign Base Areas Administration and Sovereign Base Areas Police, who devote a considerable amount of resources to policing and removing infrastructure associated with trapping across the areas.

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the UK's F-35 Joint Strike Fighters will be equipped to carry the B-61 nuclear bomb.

Anna Soubry: There are no plans for the UK's Lightning II to be equipped to carry the B-61 nuclear bomb.

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what requests NATO has received from the US Government in relation to Alliance funding for the integration of the B-61 nuclear bomb onto the F-35.

Anna Soubry: We do not comment on the policy of our Allies.

Members: Correspondence

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  if he will arrange for the hon. Member for North Durham to receive a reply to his letter of 4 February 2014 to the Cabinet Secretary;
	(2)  if he will arrange for the hon. Member for North Durham to receive a reply to his letter of 18 December 2013 to the Permanent Secretary of his Department.

Anna Soubry: I understand that the Permanent Secetary has now responded to the hon. Member's letter and has apologised for the delay in replying. I hope the hon. Member will take the response as a reply to his letter of 4 February to the Cabinet Secretary on the same matter.

Military Aid: Floods

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what effect deployment of armed forces personnel to tackle flooding has had on current operational readiness; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Francois: The personnel allocated to assist with flooding were selected in such a way that their participation in Operation Pitchpole will have no impact on the military's preparedness for future operations. None of the personnel involved were scheduled to be employed on other operations over the period, and no collective training for future operations was interrupted.

Military Aid: Floods

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what operational contingency plans he has made for future capability requirements in the event of further flooding.

Mark Francois: The MOD's support to civil authorities following the recent severe weather, Operation Pitchpole, is ongoing. Following the end of the flooding recovery stage we will work with the civil authorities to learn lessons from the flooding.
	We will continue to work closely with and provide assistance to the civil authorities under Military Aid to the Civil Authorities (MACA) principles.

Military Bases: Scotland

Michael Crockart: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what timetable he has set for the (a) closure and (b) any associated decontamination work of Craigiehall army base prior to its sale;
	(2)  what progress he has made in identifying potential buyers for Craigiehall army base, Edinburgh.

Andrew Murrison: The Army Basing Plan announced by the Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), on 5 March 2013, Official Report, columns 845-8) stated that the regular Army would be leaving Craigiehall not before 2016. It is too early to identify any potential buyers of the site. A timetable for closure and investigations into any potential decontamination (if required) will be established in due course.

Radioactive Waste: Fife

Gordon Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  if he will set out a timetable for remedial action work to begin and be completed at Dalgety Bay;
	(2)  if he will discuss with the Defence Infrastructure Organisation detailed options for cleaning up the radiation contamination at Dalgety Bay;
	(3)  for what reasons his Department was not represented at the Dalgety Bay Forum on 30 January 2014;
	(4)  if he will instruct officials of the Defence Infrastructure Organisation to meet representatives of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and the Dalgety Bay community within the next week.

Andrew Murrison: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) continues to work closely with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), and the stakeholder group they have assembled, with a view to agreeing an appropriate long term solution for managing the radium contamination at Dalgety Bay.
	I will write shortly to the right hon. Member with the detail of the timelines for the further scientific risk assessment and other work necessary to identify an appropriate long-term solution at Dalgety Bay. This timetable has been agreed between SEPA and the MOD and should result in identification of the preferred management option for the site by summer 2014.
	Having published the Outline Management Option Appraisal MOD officials will be meeting with both SEPA and Public Health England on 6 February 2014 in order to establish the health protection criteria necessary to inform the development and definition of the management option.
	Once work on identifying the most appropriate long term management option has concluded, we expect to play an active part in supporting SEPA in their engagement with wider stakeholders (including the Dalgety Bay Forum) to discuss the practicalities of implementation.
	With regard to the recent meeting of the Dalgety Bay Forum on 30 January 2014, no requirement was placed on the MOD to present but we remain willing to participate in any future discussions with the Forum whenever this is necessary and as requested by SEPA as Chair of the Forum.
	Substantive answer from Andrew Murrison to Gordon Brown:
	In my answer of 6 February 2014 (Official Report, columns 352W-353W) and further to your letter of 9 January, I promised to inform you of the progress that has been made and the proposed way forward at Dalgety Bay following the adjournment debate on 17 December 2013.
	As you are aware the Ministry of Defence (MOD) remains committed to working alongside the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) and other interested parties as part of a coalition to address the issue of radioactive contamination at Dalgety Bay in the long term.
	As promised, the MOD has finalised the preliminary Outline Management Options Appraisal report. You were given a draft copy and it was published by SEPA and the MOD on 22 January.
	The Outline Management Options Appraisal report aims to provide an indication of the potential nature and range of available measures and activities which could be implemented to enable the effective long-term management of the contamination and concludes that the preferred option is likely to comprise a combination of each of the measures and activities presented.
	However, further work is required before the best possible course of action can be determined. This work includes developing a more detailed quantitative risk assessment and health protection and remediation criteria.
	The sequence of events and timeframe needed to deliver this further work and provide an effective long-term management solution to the issue at Dalgety Bay are as follows:
	1. The MOD will develop a more detailed risk assessment (DQRA) to define the most appropriate management option, taking account of the views provided by SEPA and PHE at a recent meeting on 6 February.
	2. The MOD will define and develop a proposal for an appropriate long-term management solution informed by the PHE and DQRA contribution by the end of June 2014.
	3. SEPA will assess the wider implications of implementation on stakeholders and the local community, starting from June 2014.
	4. At the same time the MOD will establish the extent to which the Department may fund the management solution and agree with SEPA and other parties an appropriate management model for overseeing any remediation and subsequent transition to the “normalised” management arrangements.
	The definition of a normalised management regime that we are using is the point at which the risk to human health can be maintained at the level deemed to be acceptable by Public Health England without the need for monthly monitoring and recovery of radioactive sources (radium-226) and current access restrictions, such that the 'land' is deemed suitable for its current use within the context of Part 2A of the Environment Protection Act 1990, at which point MOD would expect SEPA to resume responsibility for routine monitoring and the Local Authority, Moray Estates and Sailing Club to assume their respective responsibilities for maintaining sea defences etc.
	Accordingly, I have asked my officials to seek a view by the end of March from Public Health England (PHE) as to the level of reduction in current radioactive levels necessary to achieve long-term public safety within a “normalised” management regime. Normalisation implies putting in place any measures necessary to contain or remove contamination to ensure the risks to public safety remain very low in the long term. I have raised the importance of achieving this without delay with the Department of Health.
	Until the work outlined above is completed the MOD will continue the monthly monitoring and recovery programme to ensure the risk to the public remains very low.

Railways: Concessions

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make it his policy to extend railcard discounts to reservists.

Anna Soubry: We are in discussion with the Association of Train Operating Companies on this issue, and we hope that they will reach a conclusion soon.

EDUCATION

Academies

John Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what criteria he uses to decide whether to intervene in academies that are failing.

Edward Timpson: The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), may intervene in an academy when he is satisfied that standards of performance are unacceptably low. For both academies and maintained schools the definition of 'unacceptably low' is that attainment and progress are below the measures set out in the floor standard, or that the academy is in an Ofsted category of concern.
	He may also intervene if an academy is in breach of the Academies Financial Handbook.
	The sponsored academies programme has been a huge success in transforming the fortunes of the weakest, most challenging schools. The vast majority of schools which have become sponsored academies are now thriving thanks to the greater freedom afforded to them and the strong, new leadership of these sponsors. However, in the small number of cases where an academy is not performing well, Ministers are clear that they will hold the trust to account.

Barnfield Federation

Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when officials in his Department have met counterparts in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to discuss the Barnfield Federation since May 2010; and what the purpose was of each such meeting.

Edward Timpson: We do not hold data on inter-departmental meetings between the Department for Education and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills going back as far as May 2010. However, between September 2013 and February 2014, officials from the Education Funding Agency met with their counterparts in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills or the Skills Funding Agency in person or via teleconference on 28 occasions to discuss the ongoing joint Education Funding Agency/Skills Funding Agency investigation into the Barnfield Federation.

Barnfield Federation

Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education who was responsible for the regulation of the Barnfield Federation.

Edward Timpson: As a further education corporation, Barnfield College is responsible for discharging its duties as set out in all relevant legislation, including education and charity legislation, and its Instruments and Articles of Government. The three Barnfield academy trusts are independent companies with their own responsibilities under company and charity law.
	The Department for Education has ultimate responsibility for the regulation of academies, including ensuring there is an adequate framework in place to provide assurance that all resources are managed in an effective and proper manner and that value for money is secured.
	Ofsted is responsible for the inspection and regulation of services which care for children and young people, and those providing education and skills for learners of all ages. Ofsted provides an independent assessment of the quality and standards of education and assesses the educational achievement of pupils.
	The Skills Funding Agency (SFA), an agency of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, regulates adult further education and skills training in England and ensure that public funds are spent as Parliament intended.

Child Minding

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when the Task and Finish Group for Childminder Agencies last met; and how often that group has met since the introduction of the Children and Families Bill.

Elizabeth Truss: The Task and Finish Group last met on 26 November 2013. It has met five times to date.

Children: Autism

Lee Scott: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make an assessment of the findings of the report entitled Ruled Out, published in February 2014 by Ambitious About Autism, that substantial numbers of autistic children are being unlawfully excluded from schools.

Edward Timpson: All exclusions from school must be lawful, reasonable and fair. Statutory guidance sets out schools' responsibilities in relation to exclusion and there is no excuse for schools not to adhere to the correct process. Ofsted would take seriously any evidence that a school had acted unlawfully in excluding a pupil.
	The Department for Education is funding the National Autistic Society at £440,000 over two years. Part of this funding is being used to employ an exclusions adviser who can give advice to parents and professionals to help prevent unlawful exclusion and reduce the need for formal exclusion from school.
	Officials from the Department are due to meet Ambitious about Autism to discuss the Ruled Out report and will continue to work with them and other autism groups to improve provision for children and young people with autism.

Female Genital Mutilation

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking in schools to tackle female genital mutilation.

Edward Timpson: Female genital mutilation is child abuse and a criminal offence. It is an issue that schools should take very seriously, and any school concerned that a pupil is at risk should contact their local authority safeguarding team immediately.
	On 25 February the Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove) and I met campaigners, including Fahma Mohammed, the 17-year-old student whose inspirational work has featured prominently in the media. Following that meeting, the Secretary of State issued a statement setting out our intentions. That statement has been published at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/news/michael-gove-guidance-for-schools-on-female-genital-mutilation

Foster Care

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what guidance his Department issues on the standard of accommodation which should be provided to foster children.

Edward Timpson: Standard 10 of the Fostering Services': National Minimum Standards clearly sets out the Government's expectations about the minimum standard in relation to the physical environment of the foster home.
	1https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/192705/NMS_Fostering_Services.pdf

Free School Meals

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will rank each primary school in each local authority area according to the percentage of children on free school meals; and what category each such school is.

David Laws: The requested information has been placed in the House Library.

Free School Meals: Liverpool

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children in (a) Liverpool, Walton constituency and (b) Liverpool are eligible for but do not claim free school meals.

David Laws: The Department for Education routinely collects information on pupils who are both eligible for and claiming free school meals. This information is published in the “Schools, Pupils and their Characteristics, January 2013” Statistical First Release1. Information on the number of pupils who are eligible for free school meals but do not claim them is not collected by the Department.
	The Department has published a research paper “Pupils not claiming free school meals: 2013”2 which presents estimates of the numbers and proportions of pupils who are entitled to receive free school meals but are not claiming. The paper compares registration rates for children aged between 4 and 15 and highlights regions and local authorities where under-registration rates are high. Figures from this paper show the estimated under-registration rate for Liverpool local authority is 6% compared to an England average of 11 %.
	1 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/schools-pupils-and -their-characteristics-january-2013
	2 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupils-not-claiming -free-school-meals-2013

Internet: Bullying

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what statistics his Department collects on instances of (a) cyber bullying and (b) children self-harming as a result of abuse or bullying.

Edward Timpson: The Department for Education does not collect statistics on instances of cyberbullying, or on children self-harming as a result of abuse or bullying.
	A number of expert organisations—such as the Diana Award and NSPCC—have undertaken surveys to try to measure the extent of cyberbullying. These surveys reveal wide variation in reported incidence; which could be because personal interpretation of what constitutes cyberbullying varies.
	Estimates from an evidence review carried out by the Childhood Wellbeing Centre (at the Institute of Education, University of Kent and Loughborough University) for the Department in 2011, found that between 8% and 34% of children and young people in the UK have been cyberbullied. Evidence from the 2010 Longitudinal Study of 15,000 14 to 16-year-old people in England (LSYPE) which is funded by the Department, found that cyberbullying was the most common form of abuse along with name-calling.
	We are also funding a series of questions about bullying in the 2013/14 and 2014/15 Crime Survey for England and Wales. One of the questions asks 10 to 14-year-olds about whether or not they have experienced cyberbullying in the last 12 months. This will give us a baseline estimate of prevalence and will help us to track trends over time.
	In terms of self-harm, we know from research studies such as the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) longitudinal study of a nationally representative sample of 1,116 twin pairs (2012), that bullying is associated with an increased risk of self-harm. However, there are no reliable statistics on the prevalence of self-harm due to abuse or bullying. The Department of Health funds the multicentre study of self-harm in England, which collects data in three cities about young people and adolescents attending emergency departments in six hospitals with self-harm. This study does not look at bullying or abuse in particular, but shows that relationship difficulties, including problems with friends, are a common reason for self-harm in girls. This study is however, based on admissions data which constitutes a small proportion of self-harm episodes.

Pupils: Attendance

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many responses to the consultation on the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2013 were made (a) nationally and (b) by private individuals; and how many such responses were (i) in favour of and (ii) opposed to the draft regulations.

Michael Gove: The amendments made by the Education (Pupil Registration) (Amendment) Regulations 2013 followed an extensive review on improving attendance in school by the then Government Expert Behaviour Adviser Charlie Taylor.
	Mr Taylor published his recommendations, and the Government formally responded formally at the time. This subsequent amendment removed the misconception that pupils are entitled to 10 days annual holiday during term time. The Department for Education did not consult formally on this subsequent amendment to regulations as it did not alter headteachers' ultimate discretion to grant leave of absence from school in certain circumstances. We made it clear that a leave of absence should only be granted in exceptional circumstances.

Schools: Vocational Guidance

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when the revision to the statutory guidance for schools on fulfilling their duty to secure access to independent careers guidance for their students will be published.

Matthew Hancock: The revised statutory guidance on careers guidance will be published in due course, in good time for schools to take it into account when planning careers provision for the 2014-15 academic year.

Young People: Training

David Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the recommendations of the British Chambers of Commerce Skills and Employment Manifesto published in January 2014.

Matthew Hancock: I met with the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) in February this year and welcomed the publication of their Skills and Employment Manifesto. I agree with its underlying principles that employers have a role to play in providing inspirational careers guidance and in the design and delivery of vocational education.
	Good careers guidance is about inspiration as much as advice. Longer term mentoring, particularly from employers, can inspire young people and give them the support and personal resilience needed to succeed. Strong connections with businesses should be at the heart of what every school or college does. The National Careers Service (NCS) supplements the advice and guidance which schools and colleges are required to provide for their students.
	Vocational qualification reforms have ensured that only those qualifications that are of demonstrably high value to employers will be reported in school and college performance tables. The new Tech Level qualifications for 16 to 19-year-olds will also include the involvement of employers in their delivery and assessment. These reforms will give students much greater confidence when choosing their qualifications that they are recognised and valued by employers.
	We are also reforming apprenticeships to make them more rigorous and responsive to the needs of employers. Trailblazers, led by employers and professional bodies are leading the way in developing the new standards in a wide range of sectors. In future, every apprentice will train towards the achievement of a short and easy to understand employer designed standard.
	We have also introduced traineeships; education and training courses which include work experience and help young people develop their employability skills.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Argentina

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what direct or indirect bilateral funding arrangements his Department has with Argentina.

Hugo Swire: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has no direct or indirect bilateral funding arrangements with the Federal Government of Argentina. FCO spending in Argentina is reducing and limited to supporting Chevening Scholarships and British Council activities. What remains is exclusively aimed at building long-term partnerships with the Argentine people-including businesses and future leaders-or tackling global issues, such as climate change and human rights.

British Nationals Abroad

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what financial assistance his Department offers to relatives of British nationals killed abroad who are required to travel to foreign countries for criminal trials but are in financial hardship.

Mark Simmonds: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) provides a wide range of support to bereaved families after the death of a British National abroad, but it cannot fund their travel to another country to attend a trial. The FCO does however provide partial funding to a specialist external partner, Missing Abroad, who can support bereaved families with this need by securing flights at significantly reduced prices or for free, and also provides partial funding to organisations at international airports in the UK who can support families who are travelling.
	I also refer the hon. Member to my answer of 27 November 2013, Official Report, column 287W, and to my answer of 28 January 2014, Official Report, 470W.

Burma

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the Burmese government's preparations for the census to ensure it is a complete, credible and peaceful process; what discussions he has had on the potential effect of the census on ethnic tensions in Burma; and what recent representations he has made to his Burmese counterpart on official recognition of the Royhingya under the census.

Hugo Swire: British officials have held several discussions with Burmese officials, members of the Rohingya and other ethnic community leaders, UN bodies and development agencies about the upcoming census. In January, our ambassador discussed the census with ethnic armed group leaders in Chiang Mai, and the Head of DFID Burma accompanied the Burmese Minister for Immigration and Population on a visit to Rakhine State in February to discuss the census with the Muslim and Buddhist communities.
	The British Government is providing significant funding to the census in 2014 because it will be a vital source of data to inform better government service delivery, help the government manage public finances more transparently, and underpin private investment and job creation. We, and other donors, have been working with the Burmese Government and the UN to manage and mitigate the risks, including ethnic tensions, which could be associated with the census to ensure as peaceful, credible and complete a process as possible.
	The census form contains a space that enables people to self-identify their ethnicity, such as Rohingya. The form and census process are being discussed between the Government and members of the Rohingya community and other ethnic groups.

Capital Punishment

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent progress has been made on the Strategy for the Abolition of the Death Penalty; and what recent assessment he has made of the prospects for global abolition of the death penalty.

David Lidington: Global abolition of the death penalty remains our firm goal, which we are pursuing through a multi-year strategy (2011-15). We have raised the issue in bilateral discussions with countries of concern and in multilateral fora, and we continue to fund projects throughout the world in support of abolition. The international trend towards abolition of the death penalty was last confirmed and reinforced when more countries than ever before voted in support of the biennial UN General Assembly resolution which calls for a worldwide moratorium-last held in 2012. We will continue to work intensively to help ensure that the 2014 UNGA resolution against the death penalty is again supported by more countries than ever.

China

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to visit China in 2014.

Hugo Swire: As Minister of State for China I am keen that we continue to build the momentum in our bilateral relationship. I accompanied the Prime Minister on his visit to China in December 2013. I hope visit again in 2014.

Gibraltar

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions his Department has had with the European Commission on Gibraltar in 2014 to date.

David Lidington: UK officials have had extensive discussions on a number of issues with the European Commission on Gibraltar in 2014. This includes a series of meetings at a senior level in January.

Gibraltar

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the process is by which UK citizens can relocate to Gibraltar.

David Lidington: HM Government of Gibraltar has constitutional responsibility in this area. Non-Gibraltarian British citizens can enter Gibraltar on a valid passport and remain in Gibraltar for up to three months. They would need to establish themselves as a qualified person (i.e. job seeker, worker, self-employed person or student) to be given an extended right of residence.

Gibraltar: Spain

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his Spanish counterpart on Gibraltar in 2014 to date.

David Lidington: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), raised his concerns about illegal incursions by Spanish state vessels into British Gibraltar Territorial Waters with the Spanish Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Mr Gonzalo de Benito, on 20 February. He also reiterated his proposal of April 2012 for ad hoc talks involving all relevant parties. We will continue to use all necessary measures to uphold UK sovereignty over British Gibraltar Territorial Waters.

North Korea

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking in respect of advice from the UN Human Rights Council to tackle human rights abuses in North Korea.

Hugo Swire: The Government remains deeply concerned at the reports of shocking state sanctioned human rights violations in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
	I refer my hon. Friend to the written ministerial statement of 24 February 2014, Official Report, columns 6-7WS. The Commission of Inquiry report will be formally considered by the UN Human Rights Council when they meet in March.
	The annual Foreign and Commonwealth Office Human Rights report includes the DPRK as a country of concern. The full report can be found at:
	www.hrdreport.fco.gov.uk

Pakistan

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received on the arrest and detention of Pakistani anti-drones campaigner Mr Kareem Khan.

Hugh Robertson: Following the reported detention of Mr Khan I received representations from both members of the public and Members of Parliament in correspondence, FCO officials were also contacted by diplomatic missions to discuss the case and potential responses. I understand that Mr Khan has been released by the Pakistan authorities.

Pakistan

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will investigate reports of the arrest and detention of Pakistani anti-drones campaigner Mr Kareem Khan.

Hugh Robertson: I am aware of Mr Khan's case and reports that Mr Khan has now been released by the Pakistan authorities.

Pakistan

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will discuss with his counterparts in the Pakistan government reports of the arrest and detention of Pakistani anti-drones campaigner Mr Kareem Khan.

Hugh Robertson: I am aware of Mr Khan's case and reports that Mr Khan has now been released by the Pakistan authorities. HMG regularly raises Human Rights concerns at the highest levels with the Government of Pakistan and will continue to do so. The Prime Minister raised Human Rights concerns when he visited Pakistan.

Pakistan: Iran

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his counterpart in Pakistan on preventing tensions in the region following reports that Iran may send troops into Pakistan.

Hugh Robertson: I am aware of the reports of potential Iranian action following the detention of five border guards by the Jaish al-Adl separatist group on the Iran-Pakistan border earlier this month.
	I understand that Iran and Pakistan have been in close contact since the abduction. The incident was discussed by both parties at a three day meeting of the Pakistan-Iran Joint Border Commission on 19-21 February. The Commission stressed the need for co-ordinated efforts against cross-border terrorism and formed a dedicated committee to pursue the recovery of the kidnapped Iranian guards. Pakistan has clearly stated its willingness to act on any information concerning the presence of the guards in Pakistani territory. I support all efforts to ensure that the matter is resolved peacefully.
	The UK is committed to promoting stability, peace and security in the South Asia region. We hold regular discussions on these issues with the Pakistani Government, and with others in the region.

Peru

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his Peruvian counterpart on the case of Melissa Reid and Michaella McCollum Connolly.

Hugo Swire: I have followed the case closely since Melissa Reid and Michaella McCollum's arrest on 7 August 2013 on drug trafficking charges. Consular staff in Lima are in close contact with the Peruvian authorities and continue to provide full assistance to Ms Reid, who is also receiving support from the British charity, Prisoners Abroad. Officials are also in regular contact with Ms Reid's family. The Irish Department for Foreign Affairs is providing consular assistance to Michaella McCollum, who is an Irish national.

Uganda

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the risk to LGBT people resident in or visiting Uganda following the introduction of legislation to criminalise homosexuality in that country.

Mark Simmonds: In his statement of 24 February the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), said there can be no doubt that this Bill will increase persecution and discrimination of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Ugandans. We have updated our Uganda Travel Advice on the environment for LGBT travellers. The UK will continue to press the Government of Uganda to defend human rights for all, without discrimination on any grounds.

Uganda

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions his Department has had with the government of Uganda about the effect on the human rights of LGBT people of the new legislation to criminalise homosexuality.

Mark Simmonds: The UK Government has consistently raised its concerns about the anti-homosexuality legislation with the Ugandan Government at the most senior levels. I raised the issue with the Ugandan Foreign Minister on 28 December 2013, again on 28 January 2014, and most recently with the Deputy Foreign Minister on 13 February 2014. I was able to hear at firsthand what life is like for LGBT people in Uganda during a meeting with Frank Mugisha, Executive Director of Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), on 11 February.

Uganda

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Uganda authorities about the safety of LGBT citizens and visitors to Uganda following the publication of a list naming 200 people as homosexual by Red Pepper.

Mark Simmonds: The British high commissioner in Kampala met the Inspector General of Police to seek and obtain assurances on the protection of LGBT individuals and civil society organisations on 20 February. Since its publication on 25 February, we have extensively discussed the Red Pepper list with Ugandan civil society. We will continue to seek assurances from the Ugandan authorities, and to stress the need for responsible journalism in Uganda.

Ukraine

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to offer diplomatic support to Ukraine.

David Lidington: The situation in Ukraine has been a great source of concern and the focus of attention across Government. It is clear that the people of Ukraine want to move towards a different future and the voices of those who have protested over several months have been heard.
	The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), outlined on 24 February 2014, Official Report, columns 26-29, the UK Government's work in supporting Ukraine. The Prime Minister, the Foreign Secretary and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, have discussed Ukraine with President Putin and Foreign Minister Lavrov of Russia, with Chancellor Merkel and Prime Minister Tusk, and with Foreign Ministers from Germany, Poland and more widely at the G20 Foreign Ministers in Australia.
	The UK Government, as part of the international community, will work with the new Government to encourage stability and reform and is working with international partners to mobilise international financial assistance to address the country's serious economic problems.
	The Ukrainian Parliament-the Rada-is elected to represent the Ukrainian people. We welcome the swift steps it has taken to appoint a new government of national unity which can rule Ukraine until new elections in May. Ukraine has a pressing need for constitutional reform, improvements to its political culture, free elections, an end to pervasive corruption and the building of a stable political structure. We look to the new Government to create the conditions for such change, in a spirit of reconciliation, and to ensure accountability for human rights violations.

Ukraine

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what discussions he has had with his Russian counterpart on the political instability in Ukraine;
	(2)  what steps he has taken to ensure that British diplomatic contacts with Ministers and officials in Ukraine are held with representatives of the legitimate government of that country;
	(3)  with reference to the statement on 24 February 2014 by Prime Minister Medvedev of Russia that the current situation in Ukraine represents armed mutiny, what assessment he has made of the activities and status of the interim authorities in that country.

David Lidington: The situation in Ukraine has been a great source of concern and the focus of attention across Government. It is clear that the people of Ukraine want to move towards a different future and the voices of those who have protested over several months have been heard.
	The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), outlined on 24 February 2014, Official Report, columns 26-29, the UK Government's work in supporting Ukraine. The Prime Minister, the Foreign Secretary and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, have discussed Ukraine with President Putin and Foreign Minister Lavrov of Russia, with Chancellor Merkel and Prime Minister Tusk, and with Foreign Ministers from Germany, Poland and more widely at the G20 Foreign Ministers in Australia.
	The UK Government, as part of the international community, will work with the new Government to encourage stability and reform and is working with international partners to mobilise international financial assistance to address the country's serious economic problems.
	The Ukrainian Parliament-the Rada-is elected to represent the Ukrainian people. We welcome the swift steps it has taken to appoint a new government of national unity which can rule Ukraine until new elections in May. Ukraine has a pressing need for constitutional reform, improvements to its political culture, free elections, an end to pervasive corruption and the building of a stable political structure. We look to the new Government to create the conditions for such change, in a spirit of reconciliation, and to ensure accountability for human rights violations.

USA

Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what support his Department provides for UK citizens extradited to the US who have no means to support themselves.

Hugh Robertson: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and its missions overseas provide consular support to British nationals who find themselves in difficulty abroad as laid out in the FCO publication "Support for British nationals abroad: A guide".
	Support offered to all detainees includes visits, explanation of local procedures and support to ensure health and welfare issues are property addressed in line with local standards.
	However, the FCO is unable to offer financial support to British nationals in detention. However, small amounts of funding for detainees with special needs is available in certain cases from charities working to support British nationals in detention overseas.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Community Assets: West Yorkshire

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many applications were made across (a) West Yorkshire and (b) Leeds North West constituency to list (i) facilities and (ii) buildings as Assets of Community Value; and how many such applications were approved.

Stephen Williams: Local authorities are responsible for administering the Assets of Community Value scheme. The Government does not require local authorities to report on the numbers and types of buildings and facilities that have been nominated and listed as Assets of Community Value. Under the scheme, local authorities maintain a list of assets that have been listed in their area which they must make available on request.
	Leeds City Council's Assets of Community Value list can be found at:
	http://www.leeds.gov.uk/docs/2014-02-07%20List%20of%20 Assets%20of%20Community%20Value.pdf

Equality

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many publications his Department has produced for the purposes of monitoring or promoting staff equality and diversity in each of the last five years; and what the cost of producing such publications was in each such year.

Brandon Lewis: holding answer 26 February 2014
	As required by secondary legislation issued under the Equality Act 2010, the Department has published a yearly report on the public sector equality duty, and a document outlining its equality objectives. There is no substantive cost other than some staff time.
	We have taken steps to reduce the excessive length of such monitoring reports, reflecting the recommendations of the Review of the Public Sector Equality Duty to scale back gold-plating of the Act and reduce unnecessary paperwork.

Housing: Standards

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance he has issued to local authorities on the length of time families with children should stay in annexe accommodation provided under Part 1 of the Housing Act 2004.

Kris Hopkins: The Homelessness (Suitability of Accommodation) (England) Order 2003 makes clear that bed and breakfast accommodation provided under Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996 should only be used to house homeless households with children in an emergency, and then for no longer than six weeks.
	Statutory guidance reiterates this restriction and states that where bed and breakfast accommodation is secured the authority should notify the household of the effect of the Order.
	We have increased transparency by publishing a list of all local authorities who have used bed and breakfast for families with children for longer than six weeks. Bed and breakfast accommodation is defined as accommodation which is not self-contained and in which a toilet, personal washing facilities or cooking facilities are shared by more than one household. As such any annexes where facilities are shared will be included within published statistics and can only be used in an emergency and then for no longer than six weeks.
	The Government is determined to tackle this unlawful and damaging practice and has made available £2 million in 2013-14 to support local authorities to develop innovative and sustainable solutions to the problems which drive the use of bed and breakfast accommodation. Recent reports indicate that this approach is starting to take effect, with local authorities in receipt of funding significantly reducing the number of families with children in bed and breakfast accommodation.
	We are also committed to helping other authorities by drawing on the lessons learned from the funding. We have earmarked £100,000 to use to identify good practice which will be shared with other local authorities.

Mortgages: Government Assistance

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he plans to take to replace the mortgage rescue scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Kris Hopkins: The Mortgage Rescue Scheme was a time-limited scheme introduced under the last Administration following the Labour Government's housing crash in 2008. The scheme had lower take-up than predicted, was expensive and offered poor value for money.
	The National Audit Office evaluated the last Administration's scheme and noted:
	‘In the way it implemented and managed the Scheme, the Department has not delivered value for money. The Department did not adequately test the assumptions underpinning the Scheme's business case; misjudged the demand for different types of mortgage rescue; and did not take action early enough to improve the value obtained from public investment in the Scheme after realising its initial assumptions were wide of the mark'
	(National Audit Office, “The Mortgage Rescue Scheme”, May 2011, HC 1030, p.10).
	Given the flaws in the programme, and in light of the housing market recovery under this Government, we do not intend to replace this taxpayer-funded intervention in the housing market.
	According to the Bank of England, the number of new mortgage arrears cases in the last quarter is the lowest number since its time series began in 2007 (Bank of England, “Mortgage Lenders and Administrators Statistics”, 10 December 2013). According to the Council for Mortgage Lenders, the number of repossessions is at its lowest level since 2007 and falling; it is also revising down its forecasts for 2014 (“CML press release”, 14 November 2013). This is not to be complacent. But I would note that critical to this fall in repossessions is the action the Coalition Government has taken to keep interest rates down by tackling the Labour Government's deficit.
	I would add that enhancements to the Support for Mortgage Interest scheme (shortened waiting times and increased capital limits) remain in place until March 2015 for eligible out-of-work households. The Government continues to ensure the provision of free on-the-day legal advice (the Housing Possession Court Duty Scheme) to assist households at possession hearings. We are providing £470 million of funding in the current spending review period to prevent and tackle homelessness and repossessions. I would also encourage anyone who is concerned about getting into mortgage difficulties to contact their lender at the first opportunity.

Parking

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will ensure that any measures introduced as a result of the local authority parking review being undertaken by his Department will not have a detrimental impact on the safety of children.

Brandon Lewis: Yes. We will carefully consider all the public policy issues as we review the responses to the consultation.
	However, I would observe that the Local Government Association has claimed that the coalition Government's proposals to ban CCTV parking cameras:
	“will put children at risk”.
	This is a false and spurious claim.
	CCTV spy cars are a recent and modern innovation from legislation passed by the last Labour Government. They are just an excuse for councils to raise money from issuing parking fines on an industrial scale. They undermine natural justice, as car owners receive the fine weeks later in the post making it extremely hard to challenge on appeal. Nothing we are proposing to do will prevent a parking warden or police officer issuing a penalty notice in the case of genuinely dangerous parking.
	It is hard-pressed parents who get hit with the fines from such Stasi surveillance. Public confidence is strengthened in CCTV if it is used to tackle serious crime, not to raise money for town halls by penalising parents dropping off kids on the school run.
	In their rush to bankroll CCTV spy cameras for parking enforcement, it would appear from recent media reports that parts of local government have had no qualms about sacking lollipop men and women. Crossing patrols do a sterling job in protecting children from danger—but, unfortunately, unlike spy cars, they do not raise money for council coffers.

Travellers: Caravan Sites

Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what steps his Department takes if a local authority assessment of Gypsy and Traveller need is unsatisfactory and results in too little land or too few sites coming forward; and how his Department measures the adequacy of such assessments;
	(2)  how many local authorities have developed realistic and inclusive policies as set out in his Department's Planning policy for traveller sites guidance; and how his Department evaluates these policies;
	(3)  what mechanisms his Department uses to determine whether private Traveller site provision is adequate;
	(4)  how many additional Gypsy and Traveller sites have come forward in each region of England (a) in 2013 and (b) since 2010.

Brandon Lewis: Local planning authorities are obliged to plan to meet the needs of their traveller communities in the same way as they do for the settled community. This involves an objective assessment of need, which provides the basis for proposed site provision in the Local Plan and whose soundness is subject to examination by an inspector from the Planning Inspectorate. It is similarly for local authorities to determine the right balance between private and local authority run pitches.
	The twice-yearly count of traveller caravans provides figures on total numbers of caravans and on numbers of socially-rented sites. Published statistics are available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/traveller-caravan-count

Written Questions: Government Responses

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he plans to answer Question 185266 tabled for ordinary answer on 27 January 2014.

Kris Hopkins: PQ 185266 was answered on 24 February 2014, Official Report, columns 119-20W.

JUSTICE

Chemicals

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people were convicted of using ethylene glycol-based anti-freeze products deliberately with the intention to poison in each of the last five years.

Jeremy Wright: The Ministry of Justice Court Proceedings Database holds information on defendants proceeded against, found guilty and sentenced for criminal offences in England and Wales. This database holds information on offences provided by the statutes under which proceedings are brought but not the specific circumstances of each case. It is not possible to separately identify from this centrally held information whether a defendant was convicted for the use of ethylene glycol-based anti-freeze products from other products. This detailed information may be held on the court record but due to the size and complexity is not reported centrally to the MOJ. As such, the information requested can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Communications Act 2003

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many convictions there have been under section 127 of the Digital Communications Act 2003 since 2011; and how many such convictions have related to communications (a) sent to an individual, (b) sent to a small group and (c) widely available to the public.

Jeremy Wright: The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has published guidance in relation to abusive and/or threatening behaviour online. This is an area of concern for Government and the legislative position in relation to this is clear: where behaviour is illegal off-line, it is also illegal on-line, and there are a number of pieces of legislation which can be, and are, used to prosecute.
	The number of defendant found guilty at all courts for offences under section 127 of the Communications Act 2003, in England and Wales, from 2008 to 2012 (the latest data available) can be viewed in the table.
	The proportion of offenders given custody for this offence has increased since 2010.
	The Ministry of Justice Court Proceedings Database holds information on defendants proceeded against, found guilty and sentenced for criminal offences in England and Wales. This database holds information on offences provided by the statutes under which proceedings are brought but not the specific circumstances of each case. It is not possible to separately identify, in all cases brought under section 127 of the Communications Act 2003, whether a defendant sent or caused to send information to an individual or a small group of individuals or made the information widely available to the public. This detailed information may be held by the courts on individual case files which due to their size and complexity are not reported to Justice Analytical Services. As such this information can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	Court proceeding data for the year 2013 are planned for publication in May 2014
	
		
			 Defendants found guilty at all courts for offences under section 127 of the Communications Act 2003, England and Wales, 2008-121,2 
			   Total guilty 
			 Statute Offence description 20083 2009 2010 2011 2012 
			 Section 127 Communication Act 2003 Sending or causing sending of grossly offensive / indecent / obscene / menacing or false message/ matter by electronic communications network 693 873 1,186 1,309 1,423 
			 1 The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. 2 Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. 3 Excludes data for Cardiff magistrates court for April, July and August 2008. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice.

Community Orders: Greater London

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what average time is taken to answer telephone calls by Serco with regards to placements for offenders as part of the London Community Payback contract;
	(2)  what targets are included in Serco's contract for Community Payback in London;
	(3)  how many offenders have been incorrectly assigned places as part of Community Payback in London since Serco was awarded the contract for the delivery of that programme.

Jeremy Wright: The information requested could not be obtained within the timescale. I will write to the right hon. Member in due course.

Family Law: Appeals

Craig Whittaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many family law cases applied for leave to appeal after their case has been heard in court in each year between 2009 and 2013;
	(2)  how many family law cases have been successful in applying for leave to appeal in each year between 2009 and 2013;
	(3)  how many family law cases in which Leave to Appeal was obtained had their original judgment overturned in each year from 2009 to 2013.

Simon Hughes: Appeals against decisions in the family courts and family proceedings courts made by district judges are heard by circuit judges and appeals against circuit judges' decisions are heard in the Court of Appeal. Table 1, as follows, shows the number of applications to appeal against district judge decisions in the family courts. Leave to appeal being granted or refused is not recorded on the family courts case management system, nor are the results of appeals. The only way HMCTS could estimate these totals would be to manually check the case files in the following totals and this would incur disproportionate costs. Data for cases in the Court of Appeal are published annually on a calendar year basis and the data for 2013 is due to be published in June 2014 and will not be available until then. Table 2, as follows, shows the number of applications for permission to appeal relating to family matters filed in the Court of Appeal, the number of those applications allowed, and the number of appeals allowed for 2009 to 2012.
	
		
			 Table 1: Appeals applications in the family courts (number and percentage of orders appealed) 
			  Appeal applications against district judge decisions Total number of orders made (in both family proceedings courts and county courts) Appeals against DJ decisions as percentage of all (DJ and CJ) orders made in the year 
			 2009 263 341,694 0.08 
			 2010 335 403,543 0.08 
			 2011 401 450,846 0.09 
		
	
	
		
			 2012 406 455,668 0.09 
			 Notes: 1. Family Proceedings Courts were rolled out during 2009 and 2010 so data is incomplete for these years. 2. These data are taken from a live case management system and should be considered as Management Information only. 3. Family cases in the family courts include public law child appeals, private law child appeals, Family Law Act appeals and adoption appeals. 4. The number of appeal applications and the number of orders made are counts for number made during each year; they are not 'case-tracked' (eg an appeal made in 2009 may relate to an order made prior to 2009). 5. The number of orders made in family proceedings court and county court cases are for work load indicative purposes only. They are not the same as other published figures for the numbers of children or the numbers of cases in adoption, public law, private law and Family Law Act cases. 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Number of family cases appealed to the Court of Appeal 
			  Number of overallpermission to appeal applications1 Family permission to appeal filed Percentage of overall work Permission to appeal allowed Appeals allowed 
			 2009 2,486 414 17 84 49 
			 2010 2,732 504 18 96 65 
			 2011 3,103 502 16 119 59 
			 2012 3,162 552 17 128 70 
			 1 Admin courts, Queen’s bench, chancery, county courts, IA tribunals, other tribunals, family.

Fines

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many full-time equivalent staff were employed by his Department on the enforcement of payment of fines in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012 and (d) 2013;
	(2)  how many full-time equivalent staff worked on the collection of confiscation orders in each year since 2010;
	(3)  how many full-time equivalent staff of his Department worked on collection of fines in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012 and (d) 2013.

Shailesh Vara: The number of full-time equivalent (FTE) staff employed by Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) in the area of enforcement of the payments of fines and on the collection of confiscation orders as a snapshot as at 31 December for the years 2010 to 2013 is shown in the following table. These figures were obtained from the Human Resource (HR) system on 30 January 2014. It is not possible to differentiate on the HR system between those staff employed in enforcement as opposed to collection of fines.
	Enforcement as a separate HMCTS function was not created until June 2011. For data purposes prior to that date, the business code name and hierarchy information has been used to identify staff who work in enforcement and/or confiscation.
	
		
			 Strength 
			  Other enforcement Confiscation Total FTE Total headcount 
			 31 December 2010 1,515.62 26.22 1,541.84 1,649 
			 31 December 2011 1,786.52 33.35 1,819.87 1,992 
		
	
	
		
			 31 December 2012 1,474.53 38.71 1,513.24 1,668 
			 31 December 2013 1,335.31 46.87 1,382.18 1,537

Fixed Penalties

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many full-time equivalent staff worked on the collection of penalty notice orders in each of the last four years.

Shailesh Vara: It is not possible to identify the he number of full-time equivalent staff working in fixed penalty offices over the last four years. It is not possible to differentiate on the Human Resource system between those staff working in fixed penalty offices and other enforcement functions.

Gender Recognition

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans she has to review the Gender Recognition Act 2004 to remove the spousal veto for gender reassignment.

Simon Hughes: The Government has no plans to review the Gender Recognition Act 2004. There is no spousal veto currently in the 2004 Act and there will be no spousal veto when the gender recognition provisions of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 are implemented. All applicants for gender recognition will, as now, be able to obtain their legal gender change regardless of their spouse's views.
	Under the new provisions in the 2013 Act, couples who wish to stay married following gender recognition will each need to complete statutory declarations to this effect. This will allow the Gender Recognition Panel to issue a full gender recognition certificate to the applicant.
	Where the couple do not wish to stay married, the Panel will, as now, issue an interim gender recognition certificate. This will allow either party to initiate proceedings to annul their marriage and the applicant to obtain their full certificate.

Maghull Prison

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much his Department spent on the construction of HM Prison Maghull before the project was cancelled in 2010.

Jeremy Wright: I refer the right hon. Member to the answers given on 21 December 2010, Official Report, column 1163W, and 21 December 2010, Official Report, column 1164W. There has been no additional cost since that answer.

Medomsley Secure Training Centre

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what support his Department is providing to the victims of mistreatment at Medomsley Detention Centre;
	(2)  what steps Ministers in his Department took when first informed of allegations of mistreatment at Medomsley Detention Centre;
	(3)  when Ministers in his Department were first informed of allegations of mistreatment at Medomsley Detention Centre;
	(4)  whether his Department has asked the police formally to investigate allegations of mistreatment at the Medomsley Detention Centre;
	(5)  how many allegations of mistreatment at the Medomsley Detention Centre his Department has received to date.

Jeremy Wright: In 2003, the police investigated allegations of abuse against Neville Husband, a former employee at Medomsley Detention Centre. Mr Husband was convicted of offences in 2003. Medomsley Detention Centre was closed in the early 1980s.
	Ministers, in the current administration, were informed of the allegations of sexual abuse at Medomsley Detention Centre in September 2011, in relation to a civil claim brought by a former detainee at Medomsley. Ministers were advised that Durham Constabulary had reopened their investigation into the allegations of sexual abuse at Medomsley Detention Centre in December 2013.
	I can confirm that the Ministry of Justice has received 46 complaints from former detainees of Medomsley Detention Centre to date. I am unable to comment any further on the complaints because of the ongoing legal proceedings. I regret that I am unable to answer any specific questions regarding the police investigation other than to assure the right hon. Gentleman that the Ministry of Justice will fully cooperate with Durham Constabulary regarding this matter.
	Since 2011, the Ministry of Justice has provided over £5 million to organisations to support both male and female victims of sexual violence. The right hon. Gentleman will be aware that the Government has committed £500,000 over the next financial year to provide services including advice and counselling, specifically to help male victims. I understand that Durham Constabulary is providing support for the victims that have come forward since the investigation reopened in 2013.

Ministers' Private Offices

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the size, in square metres, of the offices assigned to each of his Department's Ministers is; and how many officials, at what grade, work in the private offices of each of his Department's Ministers.

Shailesh Vara: The total size of the offices assigned to the Department's Ministers and the number of officials, by grade, working in the private offices of each of the Department's Ministers is detailed in the following table. To protect individual privacy, as they have five or fewer officials supporting them, only the total number of officials supporting Simon Hughes, Lord Faulks, Shailesh Vara, Jeremy Wright and Damian Green is provided. Damian Green is also supported in his private office by Home Office officials as a joint Ministry of Justice and Home Office Minister.
	
		
			  Secretary of State Simon Hughes Lord Faulks Shailesh Vara Jeremy Wright Damian Green 
			 Office size 75.8m2 including a boardroom 39.6m2 31.5m2 39.6m2 38.9m2 38.9m2 
			 Number of officials 1 x SCS PBl 3 x Band A 
			  2 x Band A 3 x Fast-stream 
			  2 x Band C 4 x Band C 
			  2 x Fast-stream 3 x Band D 
			  3 x Band D 1 x NOMS Grade 7 
		
	
	The State of the Estate Report reports annually on progress made during the year in improving the efficiency of the Government's civil estate. The results for 2013 will be presented to Parliament later this year. Results for 2012 show:
	continued progress, with the total size of the estate falling by 5% and the amount of occupied space being around 13m2/FTE;
	at £409/m2, we out-perform the private sector benchmark on cost per square metre by 3%.
	In London, the size of the Government's central civil estate was reduced by over 491,309m2 (or around 22%) from 1 May 2010 to 1 December 2013.
	From 1 May 2010 to 1 December 2013 the Government exited just over 1.8 million m2, reducing the size of its mandated estate by around 17%.
	Across the central civil estate, the Government Property Unit has recorded savings on annual running costs from early exits from leasehold, PFIs or disposals of freehold property of £454 million per annum from May 2010 to March 2013.
	Departments have been advised to work towards (i) an 8:10 desk ratio or less, and (ii) work in open plan offices with no single occupancy offices except Ministers and in exceptional cases other senior officials. This change will release space for use by other Government Departments or will enable buildings to be returned to the open market or sold, thus reducing the overheads of Government.

Oakwood Prison

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice on how many occasions the National Tactical Response Group has been called out to Oakwood Prison since the opening of that prison; on what date each such call-out occurred; and what the nature of the incident was.

Jeremy Wright: HMP Oakwood, currently contracted out to G4S, opened in April 2012. Since that date there have been five occasions when the National Tactical Response Group (NTRG) has been called out to attend incidents, as follows:
	
		
			 Count Date Nature of incident 
			 1 11 October 2013 Working at height 
			 2 20 November 2013 Working at height 
			 3 27 November 2013 Working at height 
			 4 5 December 2013 Working at height 
			 5 5 January 2014 Concerted indiscipline 
		
	
	‘Working at height’ covers those instances when a prisoner has scaled a roof, onto the netting between landings or onto any other raised surface and cannot be safely removed from ground level. NTRG has devised strategies and equipment to enable them to safely retrieve someone from a height.

Oakwood Prison

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which members of staff holding the positions of (a) Director, (b) Deputy Director, (c) Activities Manager, (d) Head of Reducing Re-offending, (e) Head of Safer Custody, (f) Head of Security, (g) Head of Community Engagement and (h) Head of Performance at the time of HM Prison Oakwood taking its first inmates had previous experience of (i) working, (ii) less than one year service, (iii) between one and five years service and (iv) over five years working in the prison system.

Jeremy Wright: The information requested could not be obtained within the timescale. I will write to the right hon. Member in due course.

Oakwood Prison

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which members of staff holding the positions of (a) Director, (b) Deputy Director, (c) Activities Manager, (d) Head of Reducing Re-offending, (e) Head of Safer Custody, (f) Head of Security, (g) Head of Community Engagement and (h) Head of Performance at the time of HM Prison Oakwood taking its first inmates had previous experience of working in a new prison when it took its first inmates.

Jeremy Wright: The information requested could not be obtained within the timescale. I will write to the right hon. Member in due course.

Office of the Public Guardian

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many staff were employed in the Office of the Public Guardian Investigations Unit in each year since 2010.

Simon Hughes: In July 2010 there were 40.35 full time equivalent staff members in the Compliance Unit. As of January 2014 the unit has expanded to 54.07 full time equivalent staff members.
	The Investigation Unit is part of the larger Compliance Unit, which includes staff who deal with Type 1 deputy supervision cases, safeguarding and court applications. As the work they carry out often overlaps we are unable to provide specific numbers for the Investigation Unit.
	In comparison there are currently 106 staff members employed to work with Deputy cases generally, within the supervision function.
	The relevant figures are in the following table.
	
		
			 Compliance Unit Headcount Full Time Equivalent 
			 July 2010 43 40.35 
			 July 2011 51 48.9 
			 July 2012 51 48.9 
			 July 2013 55 52.9 
			 January 2014 56 54.07

Office of the Public Guardian

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many (a) complaints and (b) enquiries the Office of the Public Guardian Investigation Unit has received in each of the last three years; and how many such complaints resulted in (A) no further action, (B) further investigation and (C) court proceedings;
	(2)  how many complaints and enquiries the Office of the Public Guardian Investigations Unit received in each month of the last three years.

Simon Hughes: The Public Guardian has statutory authority to investigate complaints, or allegations of abuse, made against deputies or attorneys acting under registered powers. The Compliance Unit deals with complex cases and in particular investigations into concerns about deputies and attorneys. Investigation plays an important role in safeguarding clients from abuse.
	Complaints and enquiries forwarded to the Compliance Unit by the wider OPG are recorded as referrals. Investigations are commenced by the Investigations Unit subject to an assessment of the evidence provided. In cases where the OPG has no jurisdiction referrals are signposted to other appropriate agencies.
	The figures for referrals and subsequent investigations can be found as follows. The categories of 'further action' and 'no further action' have been recorded since April 2013. 'Further action' outcomes are recorded when the OPG requires a third party (ie the deputy/attorney) to make an application to the Court of Protection or where the OPG monitors a case for a certain time frame.
	
		
			 (1) Result of referrals by year 
			 Financial year Referrals received Investigations started Referrals signposted Public Guardian application to court Further action No further action 
			 2011-12 3,653 430 1,550 117 - - 
			 2012-13 2,982 532 2,102 171 - - 
			 2013-14 2,969 452 929 177 51 137 
		
	
	
		
			 (2) Referrals received by month 
			  Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Total 
			 2010-11 - - - - - - - - - 137 168 189 494 
			 2011-12 269 228 244 249 278 306 311 314 289 378 383 404 3,653 
			 2012-13 216 292 196 285 241 185 356 205 228 247 293 238 2,982 
			 2013-14 299 231 230 282 423 420 385 419 280 - - - 2,969

Office of the Public Guardian

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the cost of running the Office of the Public Guardian Investigations Unit was in each of the last four years.

Simon Hughes: The Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) is self funded through customer fees. It is responsible for funding all of its operational costs excluding funding for exemptions and remissions, which is supplied by the Ministry of Justice (MOJ). As such the cost of the OPG to the tax payer is minimal.
	The OPG is committed to lowering its operational costs in order to offer reduced fee levels to its clients. Maintaining the quality of its services is paramount, particularly in its role in safeguarding vulnerable groups.
	Following a restructure in 2010-11 the Investigations Unit was embedded in the Compliance Unit, which includes staff who deal with Type 1 deputy supervision cases, safeguarding and court applications. Post 2010-11 the cost of the Investigations Unit was included in the Compliance Unit cost. In order to allow for comparability across the years the cost of the Compliance Unit as it is currently structured has been provided.
	The requested costs can be found as follows.
	
		
			  Cost (£) 
			 2009-10 1,636,789 
			 2010-11 1,479,856 
			 2011-12 1,455,954 
			 2012-13 1,688,141 
			 2013-14 (YTD) 1,322,325

Office of the Public Guardian

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the budget of the Office of the Public Guardian will be in 2014-15.

Simon Hughes: The budgets for 2014-15 have not yet been finalised; however, the indicative allocation for the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) is £43,367,000 of which £2,933,000 is capital.

Prison Sentences

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average length of custodial sentence handed down to people found guilty of (a) the offence of making or possessing an explosive under suspicious circumstances, (b) weapons training for terrorism and (c) training for terrorism was in each of the last 10 years.

Jeremy Wright: Sentencing in individual cases is a matter for the courts, within the maximum penalty set by Parliament for the offence. The Government has introduced provisions in the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill to increase the maximum penalty for these offences to life, and to add these and other terrorism-related offences to the enhanced dangerous offender sentencing regime. These provisions will ensure that robust sentences can be imposed where necessary on the most serious and dangerous terrorist offenders in a wide range of cases.
	The number of offenders sentenced and given an average custodial sentence length (months) at all courts for selected terrorism offences, in England and Wales, from 2003 to 2012 (latest data available) can be viewed in the table.
	The Ministry of Justice Court Proceedings Database holds information on defendants proceeded against, found guilty and sentenced for criminal offences in England and Wales. This database holds information on offences provided by the statutes under which proceedings are brought but not the specific circumstances of each case. It is not possible to separately identify, in all cases brought under the 'Terrorism Act 2006', whether an offender was found guilty for weapons training for terrorism. This detailed information may be held by the courts on individual case files which due to their size and complexity are not reported to Justice Statistics Analytical Services. As such, it can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	Court proceeding data from 2013 are planned for publication in May 2014.
	
		
			 Offenders sentenced and given an average custodial sentence length (months) at all courts for selected terrorism offences, England and Wales, 2003-121,2 
			 Statute Offence Outcome 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 
			 Explosive Substances Act 1883 S.4(1) Manufacture, possession or control of explosives under suspicious circumstances Sentenced * * * * * * * * 5 13 
			   Immediate custody * * * * * * * * 4 5 
			   Of which:           
			   Average custodial sentence length (months)3,4 * * * * * * * * 24.5 24.8 
			              
			 Terrorism Act 2006 S.6(1)(5) Providing instruction or training for terrorism Sentenced * * * * * 1 * * * * 
			   Immediate custody * * * * * 1 * * * * 
			   Of which:           
			   Average custodial sentence length (months)3,4 * * * * * 59.0 * * * * 
			              
			 Terrorism Act 2006 S.6(2) & (5) Receiving instruction or training for terrorism Sentenced * * * * * * 2 * * * 
			   Immediate custody * * * * * * 2 * * * 
			   Of which:           
			   Average custodial sentence length (months)3,4 * * * * * * 84.0 * * * 
			              
			 Terrorism Act 2006 S.8 Attending any place in UK or elsewhere for instruction training in terrorism Sentenced * * * * * 4 * * * * 
			   Immediate custody * * * * * 4 * * * * 
		
	
	
		
			   Of which:           
			   Average custodial sentence length (months)3,4 * * * * * 44.8 * * * * 
			 “*” = Nil 1 The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. 2 Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. 3 Excludes life and indeterminate sentences. 4 Care should be taken when interpreting these figures as averages are based on small numbers. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice

Prison Service

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prison officers taking voluntary early departure since May 2010 have had (a) up to six, (b) 6 to 12, (c) 12 to 18, (d) 18 to 24 and (e) over 24 months' continuous service.

Jeremy Wright: There were 1,430 prison officers (numbers rounded to the nearest 10) in the public sector who took up voluntary early departure between 1 May 2010 and 30 September 2013 and all had over 24 months' continuous service.

Prisoners: Females

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what programmes and interventions are provided to female victims of domestic violence in prison; in which women's prisons such programmes and interventions are currently available; and how much central Government funding has been made available to such programmes and interventions in 2013-14 and 2014-15.

Simon Hughes: The following table shows the centrally recorded domestic violence programmes and interventions being delivered across the women's prison estate during 2013-14. The cost of these programmes is met by local prison budgets. Information about what programmes will be delivered during 2014-15 will be published by the end of April 2014.
	
		
			 Programme Establishment 
			 Sexual and domestic abuse in childhood counselling HMP/YOI Styal 
			   
			 Domestic violence victim work HMP/YOI Drake Hall 
			   
			 Women Ahead programme HMP/YOI Holloway 
			   
			 Power to Change Programme HMP/YOI Newhall 
			  HMP/YOI Bronzefield 
			   
			 Freedom Programme HMP/YOI Low Newton 
			  HMP/YOI Peterborough 
			  HMP/YOI East Sutton Park 
			  HMP/YOI Styal

Prisoners: Foreign Nationals

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 5 February 2014, Official Report, column 293W, on prisoners: foreign nationals, which three countries have the next largest number of foreign nationals in UK prisons; and what steps he is taking to return those offenders to secure detention in their own countries.

Jeremy Wright: The countries with the 4th, 5th and 6th largest populations of Foreign Nationals in UK prisons on 31 December 2013 are:
	4. Romania (547)
	5. Pakistan (548)
	6. Lithuania (502)
	Romania has now implemented the EU Prisoner Transfer Arrangement and we expect to start transfers later this year. We have a voluntary prisoner transfer arrangement with Pakistan and are currently exploring how we can make it more effective. Lithuania is due to implement the EUPTA later this year and as soon as they do we will start referring prisoners to the Home Office to get the deportation orders required for transfer.
	In January this year we signed a compulsory PTA with Nigeria (7th largest population of FNOs) and last year we signed a PTA with Albania (11th). We expect to see prisoner transfers to both these countries before the end of this year.

Prisoners: Self-harm

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will assess how psychiatric input would improve the Assessment Care in Custody Teamwork process.

Jeremy Wright: The Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork (ACCT) process is a prisoner-centred, flexible care planning system for those identified as at risk of suicide or self-harm. It already benefits from psychiatric input where appropriate.
	An ACCT plan will be put in place following a prisoner's episode of self-harm or where a risk has been identified. This may include a referral for a mental health assessment which could lead to psychiatric input dependent on individual needs. The ACCT process includes provision for enhanced case management of prisoners presenting heightened or exceptional risk of harm to themselves.

Prisons

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what new capacity has (a) been introduced and (b) been removed from each prison in England and Wales in each month since January 2013;
	(2)  what (a) new capacity has come on stream and (b) capacity has been taken out of use, by prison, across the secure estate in England and Wales for each month since 1 January 2013.

Jeremy Wright: The Government will always ensure there are enough prison places for those sentenced to custody by the courts. The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, my right hon. Friend the Member for Epsom and Ewell (Chris Grayling), has committed to ensuring that there will be more adult male prison places available at the end of this Parliament than there were at the start.
	At the same time we are taking steps to modernise the prison estate and to drive down costs, in order to deliver better value for money for the taxpayer. In fact the NAO has recently commented that the wider strategy for the prison estate is the most coherent and comprehensive for a generation.
	Statistics on capacity at each prison are published on a monthly basis and the figures for 2013 are available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prison-population-figures
	We manage capacity on a dynamic basis and bring capacity on and off stream as we need to, including as a result of planned maintenance, the opening of new capacity and the closure of older, more inefficient places.
	The Secretary of State has made two major announcements on our estate modernisation plans, which will deliver significant savings for the taxpayer. In January 2013, the Secretary of State announced the closure of 2,600 old and uneconomic places through the closure of six prisons and the partial closure of accommodation in three other sites. This followed the opening of 1,600 places at HMP Oakwood and the development of plans to provide up to 1,260 new places through new houseblocks at four sites. The written ministerial statement providing details can be found at:
	http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/cmhansrd/cm130110/wmstext/130110m0001.htm#13011037000004
	In September 2013, the Secretary of State announced that we were able to close a further 1,400 uneconomic places at four sites and the conversion of an additional 600 places at HMP The Verne to hold immigration detainees. At the same time, we announced that we were starting work to build a large new prison in North Wales, delivering up to 2,000 new places. The written ministerial statement providing details can be found at:
	http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmhansrd/cm130904/wmstext/130904m0001.htm#13090427000004

Prisons: Civil Disorder

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice on which occasions the National Tactical Response Group (NTRG) was called out in each month in 2013; and to which prison the NTRG was called out in each such case.

Jeremy Wright: The National Offender Management Service's National Tactical Response Group (NTRG) is a specialist resource to assist both public and private sector establishments in safely managing and resolving serious incidents in prisons.
	NTRG staff have been called to attend incidents at only 51% of establishments in the past year. There has been a rise in the number of call-outs during 2013. This is mainly due to minor incidents such as prisoners protesting by climbing onto the netting between landings. NTRG staff have the specialist skills required to deal with such incidents which accounted for 67% of all the call-outs during 2013, and they are frequently called to attend as a precautionary measure. Not all call-outs result in engagement by NTRG staff, with a number of situations being resolved locally. Of all the incidents NTRG attended during 2013, 74% were resolved by surrender. There has been no rise in the number of serious incidents being attended.
	The following table sets out the occasions from 1 January 2013 to 31 December 2013 when the National Tactical Response Group has been called out to public and private sector establishments. This information does not include aborted call-outs:
	
		
			 Count Date Establishment 
			  2013  
			 1 2 January Rye Hill 
			 2 3 January Featherstone 
			 3 3 January Hull 
			 4 4 January Styal 
			 5 4 January Littlehey 
			 6 8 January Nottingham 
			 7 9 January Wetherby 
			 8 10 January Werrington 
			 9 11 January Hull 
			 10 28 January Lindholme 
			 11 28 January Camp Hill 
			 12 29 January Wandsworth 
			 13 4 February Lowdham Grange 
			 14 5 February Werrington 
			 15 7 February Stoke Heath 
			 16 8 February Werrington 
			 17 13 February Rye Hill 
			 18 14 February Long Lartin 
			 19 16 February Northumberland 
			 20 18 February Highdown 
			 21 21 February Highdown 
			 22 22 February Featherstone 
			 23 27 February Werrington 
			 24 28 February Wetherby 
			 25 2 March Swinfen Hall 
			 26 3 March Parc 
			 27 4 March Rye Hill 
			 28 6 March Cookham Wood 
			 29 9 March Moorland 
			 30 11 March Wetherby 
			 31 11 March Wetherby 
			 32 12 March Hindley 
			 33 12 March Northumberland 
			 34 13 March Hindley 
			 35 13 March Hindley 
			 36 16 March Swinfen Hall 
			 37 23 March Preston 
			 38 30 March Lowdham Grange 
		
	
	
		
			 39 1 April Wetherby 
			 40 1 April Stocken 
			 41 2 April Hindley 
			 42 2 April Wayland 
			 43 4 April Guys Marsh 
			 44 7 April Morton Hall 
			 45 11 April Lincoln 
			 46 11 April Winchester 
			 47 16 April Hindley 
			 48 17 April Rye Hill 
			 49 19 April Woodhill 
			 50 22 April Long Lartin 
			 51 23 April Swaleside 
			 52 25 April Peterborough 
			 53 26 April Ranby 
			 54 26 April Woodhill 
			 55 27 April Woodhill 
			 56 5 May Garth 
			 57 5 May Hindley 
			 58 6 May Onley 
			 59 7 May Woodhill 
			 60 8 May Lewes 
			 61 10 May Highpoint 
			 62 12 May Lowdham Grange 
			 63 14 May Featherstone 
			 64 17 May Aylesbury 
			 65 20 May Leicester 
			 66 20 May Lewes 
			 67 21 May Moorland 
			 68 23 May Lindholme 
			 69 23 May Lincoln 
			 70 23 May Aylesbury 
			 71 26 May Full Sutton 
			 72 27 May Channings Wood 
			 73 30 May Holme House 
			 74 30 May Woodhill 
			 75 31 May Nottingham 
			 76 2 June Feltham 
			 77 2 June Lincoln 
			 78 2 June Dovegate 
			 79 2 June Woodhill 
			 80 3 June Elmley 
			 81 7 June Rye Hill 
			 82 7 June Lindholme 
			 83 10 June Cookham Wood 
			 84 10 June Glen Parva 
			 85 12 June Swinfen Hall 
			 86 16 June Highdown 
			 87 17 June Northumberland 
			 88 17 June Wolds 
			 89 17 June Hindley 
			 90 18 June Featherstone 
			 91 18 June Swinfen Hall 
			 92 18 June Coldingley 
			 93 18 June Swinfen Hall 
			 94 19 June Leeds 
			 95 22 June Lancaster Farms 
			 96 22 June Isis 
			 97 25 June Lindholme 
			 98 26 June Ranby 
			 99 26 June Wetherby 
			 100 27 June Isis 
			 101 30 June Wealstun 
			 102 6 July Cardiff 
		
	
	
		
			 103 9 July Dovegate 
			 104 9 July Wymott 
			 105 10 July Haverigg 
			 106 10 July Stafford 
			 107 14 July Aylesbury 
			 108 16 July Deerbolt 
			 109 18 July Stafford 
			 110 18 July Pentonville 
			 111 22 July Risley 
			 112 27 July Onley 
			 113 28 July Everthorpe 
			 114 28 July Feltham 
			 115 29 July Wetherby 
			 116 1 August Winchester 
			 117 3 August Hewell 
			 118 6 August Swinfen Hall 
			 119 6 August Rye Hill 
			 120 7 August Moorland 
			 121 13 August Glen Parva 
			 122 18 August Lowdham Grange 
			 123 18 August Hindley 
			 124 18 August Liverpool 
			 125 19 August Leeds 
			 126 21 August Winchester 
			 127 21 August Glen Parva 
			 128 23 August Wandsworth 
			 129 24 August Aylesbury 
			 130 28 August Woodhill 
			 131 28 August Rye Hill 
			 132 31 August Stocken 
			 133 2 September Gartree 
			 134 3 September Moorland 
			 135 3 September Wealstun 
			 136 4 September Hindley 
			 137 5 September Lindholme 
			 138 5 September Stocken 
			 139 6 September Ranby 
			 140 9 September Aylesbury 
			 141 10 September Haverigg 
			 142 21 September Everthorpe 
			 143 22 September Hewell 
			 144 24 September Nottingham 
			 145 24 September Lindholme 
			 146 24 September Lindholme 
			 147 24 September Liverpool 
			 148 24 September Lindholme 
			 149 25 September Dorchester 
			 150 26 September Coldingley 
			 151 27 September Swinfen Hall 
			 152 1 October Moorland 
			 153 1 October Lowdham Grange 
			 154 4 October Featherstone 
			 155 6 October Norwich 
			 156 8 October Lindholme 
			 157 8 October Haverigg 
			 158 9 October Leicester 
			 159 10 October Hindley 
			 160 11 October Pentonville 
			 161 11 October Oakwood 
			 162 12 October Stocken 
			 163 17 October Northumberland 
			 164 18 October Dover 
			 165 19 October Woodhill 
			 166 21 October Highdown 
		
	
	
		
			 167 27 October Rochester 
			 168 30 October Long Lartin 
			 169 2 November Maidstone 
			 170 4 November Swaleside 
			 171 5 November Altcourse 
			 172 5 November Hewell 
			 173 6 November Doncaster 
			 174 8 November Long Lartin 
			 175 9 November Werrington 
			 176 9 November Altcourse 
			 177 9 November Long Lartin 
			 178 10 November Long Lartin 
			 179 13 November Stafford 
			 180 13 November Long Lartin 
			 181 17 November Highpoint 
			 182 18 November Guys Marsh 
			 183 20 November Oakwood 
			 184 21 November Guys Marsh 
			 185 22 November Stafford 
			 186 27 November Oakwood 
			 187 28 November Hull 
			 188 29 November Onley 
			 189 2 December Feltham 
			 190 2 December Risley 
			 191 4 December Wormwood Scrubs 
			 192 5 December Oakwood 
			 193 10 December Lowdham Grange 
			 194 13 December Stocken 
			 195 14 December Doncaster 
			 196 18 December Lincoln 
			 197 18 December Doncaster 
			 198 22 December Everthorpe 
			 199 22 December Woodhill 
			 200 23 December Winchester 
			 201 28 December Erlestoke 
			 202 30 December Altcourse 
			 203 30 December Hull

Prisons: Feltham

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what preliminary work his Department has undertaken on plans for a new prison at Feltham announced in September 2013.

Jeremy Wright: The Ministry of Justice is carrying out an initial feasibility study and preliminary investigative work regarding a potential new prison in Feltham.

Prisons: Mother and Baby Units

Jenny Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the effect of the decision to close two of the three mother and baby units in prisons on the distance women are held from their families.

Simon Hughes: The mother and baby unit at HMP/YOI Holloway has been closed in line with the recommendation included in the Women's Custodial Estate Review. The report was published on 25 October and recommended that the women's prison estate be reconfigured to make sure that women are held as close as possible to where they are going to live after release with access to the right interventions and with opportunities for meaningful resettlement.
	Taking into account the limited physical environment of the mother and baby unit at HMP/YOI Holloway, and the close proximity of HMP Bronzefield (21.5 miles), it was recommended that the 13 places at HMP Holloway should be closed.
	The rationale to close HMP/YOI Holloway's mother and baby unit was to reduce excess capacity within the mother and baby unit system without adversely affecting distance from home for imprisoned mothers with babies and their ability to maintain family contact. There are now six mother and baby units nationally, including at Askham Grange.
	The intention to close HMP/YOI Askham Grange follows a steady reduction in the female prison population. We will only close the prison once new resettlement facilities are made available across the country, offering better options for the great majority of female offenders.

Prisons: Research

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what levels of regulatory approval are required before academic research can be undertaken within the prison estate; and if he will make a statement.

Jeremy Wright: All research applications are reviewed via the process described in the Prison Service Instruction 13/2012, as set out on the Ministry of Justice website at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/research-and-analysis/noms
	This process covers research projects commissioned by the Ministry of Justice and NOMS, and all external projects commissioned and funded by other bodies.
	Approval must be granted before the research can proceed. In all cases, consideration is given to: (i) the links to NOMS priorities; (ii) the potential demand on resources; (iii) the overlap with other (current/recent) research projects; (iv) the appropriateness/robustness of the proposed methodology; (v) the data protection/security implications; (vi) any relevant ethical dimensions; and (vii) the applicants' research skills and/or experience.

Reoffenders

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which five offences have recorded the highest number of convicted repeat offenders in the last year.

Jeremy Wright: The following list presents the top five offences of offenders convicted in 2012, who had been convicted of at least one previous offence of any type.
	Top five offences of offenders convicted in 2012, who had been convicted of at least one previous offence of any type1
	Offence description:
	Theft Act 1968 sec. 1—Stealing from shops and stalls ( shoplifting)
	Criminal Justice Act 1988 sec.39—Common assault and battery
	Road Traffic Act 1988 sec.5 (1 ) (a)—Driving or attempting to drive a mechanically propelled vehicle while having a breath, blood or urine alcohol concentration in excess of the prescribed limit
	Criminal Damage, £5,000 or less; Criminal Damage Act 1971; Magistrates Courts Act 1980; Allotments Act 1922
	Possession of controlled class B drug Cannabis Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, sec 5 (2)
	Reoffending levels have been far too high for far too long, Government's ‘Transforming Rehabilitation’ reforms for England and Wales are designed to change this. As part of these reforms, all adult offenders leaving custody will be subject to statutory supervision and all offenders will be subject to a licence period (or a combination of licence and supervision) of at least 12 months in the community.

Reoffenders

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many offenders have been reconvicted within 12 months of breaching a Suspended Sentence Order in each year since the introduction of Suspended Sentence Orders;
	(2)  how many offenders have been sent to prison after breaching a Suspended Sentence Order in each year since the introduction of Suspended Sentence Orders.

Jeremy Wright: Since 2010, offenders are more likely to go to prison and they go to prison for longer.
	Suspended custodial sentences can be a useful option for the courts in some cases and offenders serving these sentences have a lower reoffending rate than offenders serving immediate, short custodial sentences. It is recorded as a custodial sentence and the threat of a prison sentence can incentivise offenders to reform.
	Where an offender breaches a suspended sentence order, either by failing to comply with any community requirement or by committing a farther offence during the period for which the sentence is suspended, there is a presumption that the court will give effect to the custodial sentence unless it considers that it would be unjust to do so in view of all the circumstances.
	If the court does not give effect to custodial sentence, it must impose more onerous community requirements, or extend the supervision or operational period of the order, or impose a fine (not exceeding £2,500), as appropriate.
	The Ministry of Justice Court Proceedings Database holds information on defendants proceeded against, found guilty and sentenced for criminal offences in England and Wales. This database holds information on offences provided by the statutes under which proceedings are brought but not all the specific circumstances of each case. Statistics are not collated centrally on sentencing outcomes for breaches of suspended sentence orders.

Reoffenders: Females

Jenny Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many women will be recalled to custody under the Transforming Rehabilitation proposals.

Simon Hughes: Under our reforms we will expect new providers of probation services to focus relentlessly on making sure that all offenders, including women, do not return to custody and desist completely from reoffending. Providers will need to meet national standards set by the Secretary of State for the management of offenders and will have to evidence in their bids how they would deliver gender-specific rehabilitation support specific to the needs of female offenders. Successful bidders will be held to account to deliver these services in their contracts.
	The Impact Assessment for the Offender Rehabilitation Bill outlines our analysis of the projected impacts on overall breach rates for licence conditions, and can be found at the following link. This analysis does not specifically project breach or recall rates by gender:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/208171/updated-rehabilitation-bill-impact-assessment.pdf

Secure Colleges

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate his Department has made of the annual cost of a place in a secure college.

Jeremy Wright: The Government's vision for secure colleges was set out on 17 January 2014 in its response to the consultation paper “Transforming Youth Custody”. Secure colleges will place education at the heart of custody, and equip young people with the skills they need to turn their lives around.
	The current average cost of a place in youth custody is around £100,000 per annum. Secure colleges will achieve ongoing savings by operating at a significantly lower cost per place than the current average, while allowing withdrawal from more expensive and inefficient provision.
	The MOJ will not be able to publish estimates of the annual cost per place until the operator competition for the pathfinder secure college has been completed, to avoid prejudicing the effectiveness of the competition.

Secure Colleges

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when the Government will publish the draft rules for secure colleges.

Jeremy Wright: The Government's vision for secure colleges was set out on 17 January 2014 in its response to the consultation paper ‘Transforming Youth Custody’. Rules establishing the operational framework for secure colleges will be developed to inform the operator procurement process for the pathfinder secure college which will open in 2017.

Serco

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how much will Serco have been paid for running community payback in London when the contract ends;
	(2)  what the terms of the surrender by Serco of the contract for running community payback in London were;
	(3)  what liability his Department has for termination payments to Serco for their surrender of the contract for running community payback in London;
	(4)  how much his Department will have to pay to Serco for their surrender of the contract for running community payback in London.

Jeremy Wright: Serco's contract to run Community Payback in London will conclude at the end of this year to ensure a consistent approach as we roll out our vital probation reforms. This contract has and will deliver cashable savings in the region of £11 million to end October 2014.
	The expenditure year to date November 12 to November 13 = £11,792 million. In respect of the final contract year, taxpayers will not pay for services that are not delivered but the actual cost at the time of contract end is not yet known.
	The terms of the contract termination are still subject to negotiation.
	While the contract provides for termination events, on this occasion the negotiation is on the basis of a mutual agreement using early termination through a variation which will allow the authority to minimise any costs.
	The terms of the contract termination are still subject to negotiation.

Staff

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of staff recruited to his Department since 5 May 2010 identified their ethnicity as (a) white British and (b) from a minority ethnic background.

Simon Hughes: Staff within the Ministry of Justice (MOJ HQ), HM Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS), National Offender Management Service (NOMS), Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) and Legal Aid Agency (LAA) can, but are not compelled to, declare their ethnicity. We do not hold complete data for staff ethnicity.
	The proportion of staff recruited since 5 May 2010 who have declared their ethnicity is set out in the following table. The figures include on and off strength staff and the percentage has been calculated against the number of declarations. This is in line with the Ministry of Justice external diversity publishing rules.
	
		
			 On and Off Strength Headcount Percentage of those declared 
			 (a) Total White British, English, Scottish and Welsh 3,129 69 
			 (b) Total minority ethnic background (covers all non-white categories) 951 21

Travel

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the cost of travel within the UK was for his Department in each year since 2010; and how much of this was spent on (a) hire cars, (b) helicopter hire, (c) hotel accommodation and (d) subsistence.

Shailesh Vara: Table 1 details the departmental spend on travel and subsistence for the financial years 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13. This information has been drawn from the audited annual MOJ whole Department accounts. It is possible that some travel outside the UK may be included. Spend on Travel and Subsistence has decreased each year compared to equivalent spend in 2008-09. Spend in this area reduced by 34.30% when 2012-13 is compared to 2008-09.
	Table 2, included for information purposes, shows the decreasing spend on subsistence across the Department from 2008-09 to 2013-14 (year to date figures). Departmental spend on hospitality has decreased year on year since 2008-09 with 2012-13 spend reducing by 93.23% from the 2008-09 level.
	Data is not available for the current year as it has not yet been audited and so is not comparable.
	To break the information down further would incur a disproportionate cost.
	
		
			 £000 
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 Travel and Subsistence 71,130 66,516 48,217 41,009 46,729 
		
	
	
		
			  Financial year 
			 Nac Level 6 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 September 2013 
			 HMCTS       
			 224227-Hospitality 52,997.73 -2,459.93 5,317.00 10,620.32 6,952.39 4,004.68 
			 224228-External Lunches and Dinners 247.70 9.50 -42.55 156.00 2,544.00 260.00 
			 224229-Refreshments for Interdepartmental Meetings 34,917.29 24,890.72 19,052.41 3,660.04 2,597.02 2,881.26 
			        
			 MOJ HQ       
			 224227-Hospitality 18,572.77 18,755.64 6,584.20 3,095.97 2,893.31 299.20 
			 224228-External Lunches and Dinners 4,262.15 3,909.39 883.27 0.00 0.00 0.00 
			 224229-Refreshments for Interdepartmental Meetings 96,946.33 28,699.71 3,096.00 247.68 0.00 0.00 
			        
			 LAA       
			 224227-Hospitality 1— 1— 1— 1— 1— 893.68 
			 224228-External Lunches and Dinners 1— 1— 1— 1— 1— 0.00 
			 224229-Refreshments for Interdepartmental Meetings 1— 1— 1— 1— 1— 0.00 
		
	
	
		
			        
			 OPG       
			 224227-Hospitality — — — — — — 
			 224228-External Lunches and Dinners — — — — — — 
			 224229-Refreshments for Interdepartmental Meetings 21,708.25 32,433.69 2,349.93 1,646.88 572.04 0.00 
			        
			 Totals       
			 224227-Hospitality 71,570.50 16295.71 11901.2 13716.29 9845.7 5,197.56 
			 224228-External Lunches and Dinners 4,509.85 3918.89 840.72 156 2544 260.00 
			 224229-Refreshments for Interdepartmental Meetings 153,571.87 86024.12 24498.34 5554.6 3169.06 2,881.26 
			  229,652.22 106,238.72 37,240.26 19,426.89 15,558.76 8,338.82 
			 1 ALB Status.

Written Questions

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many parliamentary questions for answer on a named day were answered by his Department (a) on the named day, (b) after the named day with prior notification to the hon. Member concerned and (c) after the named day without prior notification to the hon. Member concerned between 1 November 2013 and 31 January 2014;
	(2)  how many parliamentary questions for written answer on a named day answered by his Department after the named day without prior notification to the relevant hon. Member concerned between 1 November 2013 and 31 January 2014 were answered (a) one, (b) two to five, (c) six to 10, (d) 11 to 20 and (e) 21 or more days after the named day;
	(3)  what the average length of time was for his Department to provide an answer to parliamentary questions for answer on a named day that were answered after the named day without prior notification to the hon. Member concerned between 1 November 2013 and 31 January 2014;
	(4)  how many (a) ordinary written questions and (b) questions for answer on a named day were received by his Department between 1 November 2013 and 31 January 2014.

Shailesh Vara: Between 1 November 2013 and 31 January 2014, 738 parliamentary questions were tabled to the Ministry of Justice, of which 430 were named day questions. 60 named day questions were answered on time over this period. This is in the context of a significant increase in the number of named day questions tabled to the Department this session, when compared to previous sessions.
	The MOJ receives a high volume of parliamentary questions on a wide range of subjects. These can involve compiling detailed statistical information. We are committed to answering PQs in a way that provides the necessary context for Members.
	It would incur disproportionate costs to provide a figure for the number of notification letters issued to Members, and a breakdown of when each named day question was answered, since this would require a manual trawl of each individual parliamentary question response.
	The Government is committed to providing the Procedure Committee with information relating to written PQ performance on a sessional basis and will provide full information relating to the 2013-14 session to the Committee at the end of the current session.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Local Enterprise Partnerships

Caroline Dinenage: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills which local enterprise partnerships submitted final European Structural and Investment Fund strategies to his Department by the end of January 2014.

Michael Fallon: All 39 Local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) have submitted their final European Structural and Investment Fund strategies. Two LEPs submitted their plans after January 2014—Lancashire and North East.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Access to Work Programme

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what representations he has received on changes to guidance for the Access to Work scheme on the employment of support workers for disabled people where they are needed on a full-time basis.

Michael Penning: Access to Work guidance is not specific about the employment of support workers who are needed full-time. It is an employer's responsibility to determine a worker's employment status, depending on the terms and conditions of the working relationship.
	Under Access to Work guidance, the expectation is that awards for support workers needed for more than 30 hours per week will be assessed against a reasonable annual salary for that service. This is intended to provide value for money for the taxpayer.
	We have received a variety of correspondence from individuals and organisations about how this guidance is being applied. Officials have responded promptly in writing and through face-to-face meetings to address the issues raised.

Disability Living Allowance

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make the mobility component of the disability living allowance available to children with life-limiting conditions under the age of three years old who are technology or ventilator-dependent.

Michael Penning: There are no plans to extend payment of the mobility component of disability living allowance to disabled children with life-limiting conditions under the age of three. The care component of disability living allowance (up to £79.15 per week) is available to severely disabled children from the age of three months and additional support for parents of disabled people is available from a range of sources, including the disability premiums and the additional elements in tax credits.

Employment and Support Allowance

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what guidance his Department has issued to tribunals on the period of time between a tribunal's decision and the forwarding of their Statement of Reasons to the jobcentre.

Shailesh Vara: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.
	The First-tier Tribunal—Social Security and Child Support (SSCS), administered by HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS), hears appeals against Department for Work and Pensions' (DWP) decisions on a range of benefits and credits.
	When an SSCS tribunal panel determines the outcome of an appeal, it is known as a tribunal decision. In oral cases the Tribunal will generally give its decision at the end of the hearing, both orally and in a typed decision notice. In cases where a party is not present or where the appeal is decided on the papers the Tribunal issues the written decision to the appellant, the appellant's representative, if they have one, and to the DWP (or other agency which made the original decision). HMCTS' guidance to staff of the Tribunal is that the decision notice should be issued within two days of the hearing. In practice it is usually issued on the day of the hearing.
	A Statement of Reasons is a record of the full facts and reasons for the Tribunal's decision written by the tribunal judge who heard the appeal.
	It is a formal document that must be requested by either party to the proceedings before they can apply for permission to appeal against the Tribunal's decision on a point of law.

Employment and Support Allowance

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the total cost incurred by his Department was in appeals against benefit sanctions imposed on claimants of employment and support allowance in each year since 2010.

Esther McVey: We are unable to show a breakdown of costs specifically for appeals against ESA benefit sanctions.

Employment Schemes: Disability

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) referrals, (b) starts and (b) job outcomes have been made for Work Choice programme participants serviced by Remploy through grant-in-aid funded services in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13.

Esther McVey: The numbers of Work Choice programme participants supported by Remploy through grant in aid-funded services in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13 are shown in the following table:
	
		
			  2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 Referrals 19,704 21,048 21,473 
			 Starts 19,306 17,938 17,021 
			 Job outcomes 9,760 6,401 8,537 
			 Note: The Work Choice programme commenced in October 2010. Numbers for 2010-11 include Workstep and the Work Choice programme. Source: Remploy

Employment Schemes: Disability

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of Jobcentre Plus offices had a dedicated Disability Employment Adviser in the latest period for which figures are available.

Esther McVey: All Jobcentres have access to a Disability Employment Adviser (DEA).

Equality

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many publications his Department has produced for the purposes of monitoring or promoting staff equality and diversity in each of the last five years; and what the cost of producing such publications was in each such year.

Michael Penning: The Department is committed to providing equality of opportunity for all staff and the customers we support. We monitor and promote staff equality and diversity to ensure that genuine consideration is given to the likely and actual effects of our policies, processes and services on our employees and customers, and to ensure decisions are made through evidence-based policy making.
	Over the last five years we have produced the following publications:
	The Department's Equality Scheme progress report in September 2010:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-work-pensions/about/equality-and-diversity
	As part of fulfilling our obligations under the Public Sector Equality Duty, equality information reports in:
	January 2012:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/141742/equality-info-report-2011.pdf
	July 2012:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/140057/equality-info-report-2012.pdf
	July 2013:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/212104/equality-info-report-2013.pdf
	departmental objectives in April 2012:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-work-pensions/about/equality-and-diversity#equality-objectives
	Information on the costs of producing these publications is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average cost is incurred by his Department over an appeal against a decision to sanction a claimant's jobseeker's allowance; and what the total cost to deal with all such appeals has been in each year since 2010.

Esther McVey: The following table shows the total cost incurred by the Department for all types of jobseeker's allowance (JSA) Appeals since 2010. 2010-11 data is not available in the same format and is not comparable to future years.
	
		
			 Financial year 2011-12 2012-13 
			 JSA Appeal Costs £5.67 million £5.10 million 
			 JSA Appeal Unit Cost £130.27 £119.04 
			 Labour Market Sanction Appeal Costs £4.15 million £5.3 million 
			 Labour Market Sanction Appeal Unit Cost £65.49 £71.67 
			 Data Source: The Departmental Activity Based Models 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13 
		
	
	The costs are extracted at full cost to DWP, they include apportioned costs for Shared Services and Corporate activities e.g. IT, HR and Finance. They include staff and non-staff costs. The costs exclude any arm’s length bodies or non departmental public bodies.
	JSA Appeals are split into JSA Appeals and Labour Market Appeals. JSA Appeals are appeals against the entitlement to JSA. Labour Market Sanction Appeals are appeals against sanctions for not fulfilling Labour Market related conditions e.g. failing to attend training. They also include "leaving job voluntarily" cases.

Minimum Wage

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans his Department has to undertake an impact assessment on the effects on levels of child poverty of a rise in the national minimum wage to (a) £7.35, (b) £7.85, (c) £8.35 and (d) £8.85 an hour.

Esther McVey: The Department for Work and Pensions currently has no plans to undertake such an assessment.
	This Government has made good progress in tackling the root causes of child poverty. Employment has increased by 1.3 million since 2010 and the number of children under 16 in workless households has fallen by 274,000.

Pensioners: Social Security Benefits

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to help older people in Chelmsford constituency claim the benefits to which they are entitled.

Steve Webb: We are committed to ensuring that older people receive the support they are entitled to. I regularly engage with a wide range of stakeholders and customer representative groups on a range of issues including access to pensioner benefits.
	The Department writes to people, at the address held on record, up to four months before they reach state pension age inviting them to claim their state pension. An information leaflet about the state pension is enclosed with that letter; it provides details of how to claim pension credit.
	Customers can claim pension credit by telephone, removing the need to complete lengthy application forms; they can also claim housing benefit at the same time, and are advised of pension credit when they claim their state pension.
	DWP has also introduced a web-based pension credit toolkit at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pension-credit-toolkit
	Its purpose is to provide customer representative organisations with all the information needed in order to talk to pensioners about pension credit. In partnership with Age UK, local authorities and other groups, a structured campaign was undertaken to create awareness of the toolkit amongst those who support our customers.
	In the long term, our aim is to reduce complexity in the system. That is why we are reforming the state pension through the current Pensions Bill, setting it above the basic level of means-tested support and giving greater prominence to the contributory pension.

Personal Independence Payment

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of new claims for personal independence payment involve a face-to-face consultation assessment.

Michael Penning: The information is not available and will not form part of the future published official statistics.

Personal Independence Payment

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the mean average time taken to process an application for a personal independence payment from receipt of application to determination is; and what the longest time taken to determine any such application is.

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many and what proportion of decided personal independence payments claims, which were not made under the special rules for terminally ill people, have been (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful, by claimants resident in (i) Washington and Sunderland West constituency, (ii) the North East and (iii) England in each month for which records are available;
	(2)  how many personal independence payments claims, not made under the special rules for terminally ill people, have been made by residents of (a) Washington and Sunderland West constituency, (b) the North East and (c) England in each month for which records are available.

Michael Penning: Personal Independence Payment (PIP) started from April 2013 and although limited data has started to feed through, we need to wait until the Department has quality assured, meaningful figures for publication. The Department is working to guidelines set by the UK Statistics Authority to ensure we are able to publish statistics that meet high quality standards at the earliest opportunity. We intend to publish official statistics on PIP from spring 2014 in line with our publication strategy:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/284330/pip_stats_release_strategy_feb14.pdf
	An ad-hoc release of PIP information was published on 11 February 2014.

Retirement: Females

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to help women adversely affected by the increase in retirement age to 66 by 2020.

Steve Webb: The Pensions Act 2011 legislated for the state pension age for men and women to equalise by November 2018, and rise to 66 by October 2020. These changes to state pension age are necessary as people are living longer and healthier lives, on average.
	The Government is working with business to encourage employers to adopt good practice that supports the ongoing health and employment of an ageing work force so they can work up to rising pension ages. The Government is achieving this through the Age Positive initiative and, from later in 2014, the Health and Work Service. As part of this scheme, an annual tax exemption of £500 will be introduced for medical treatments recommended by the service. The Government have also announced it is extending the 'right to request flexible working' to all workers.
	For those who are out of work, the Government, through universal credit, the Work programme and Jobcentre Plus flexibilities, is reforming the welfare system to improve incentives and provide more effective support for older people.

Social Security Benefits

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to section 96 of the Welfare Reform Act 2012, what information he used to determine estimated average earnings when setting the rates for the Household Benefit Cap for 2014-15.

Esther McVey: The earnings data used to calculate estimated average earnings for the review of the level of the benefit cap for 2014-15 are the Family Resources Survey (published in June 2013) and the most recent (November 2013) Office for Budget Responsibility economic forecast of earnings growth. These are used together to project the level of earnings for 2014-15.

State Retirement Pensions: Females

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent representations he has received on the situation of those women born between 1951 and 1953 who will receive a smaller weekly state pension income than a man with the same date of birth from 2016; if he will make it his policy to guarantee that no women born between 1951 and 1953 with an equivalent number of qualifying years receive a smaller state pension income on a weekly basis than as a man with the same date of birth commencing in 2016; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Webb: The Department receives correspondence from members of public on a range of issues, including this one. The Department's analysis shows that 90% of the women in the April 1951 to April 1953 birth cohort will receive more in state pension and other benefits over the course of their life than if they were to draw a single-tier pension at age 65. This is because, due to unequal state pension ages, the women in this cohort can draw a state pension between two and four years before a man born the same day as them.
	Qualification for the single-tier pension will be dependent on reaching state pension age after the new system is introduced, on 6 April 2016. Men and women reaching state pension age before the new system is introduced will receive a state pension based on the current system, and in line with the qualifying conditions of the current system.

Telephone Services

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether his Department's announcement on 27 January 2014, that it will introduce alternative 0345 telephone numbers for its major call lines from March 2014, will include such a number for the (a) Child Support Agency and (b) Child Maintenance Service from that date.

Steve Webb: The announcement made on the 27 January on the GOV.UK website at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/news/dwp-helps-cut-telephone-call-costs-from-march-2014
	regarding the introduction of alternative 0345 telephone numbers for the Department's major call lines from March 2014, does include the Child Support Agency and Child Maintenance Service.

Telephone Services

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in respect of each of the telephone lines run by the Child Support Agency in 2012-13, what the total call minutes (a) connected, (b) speaking to an adviser and (c) on hold awaiting an adviser for each telephone line run by the Child Support Agency was in 2012-13.

Steve Webb: The total call minutes for each of the telephone lines operated by the Child Support Agency, for December 2012 to December 2013, are provided in the following table:
	
		
			  (a) Connected (b) Speaking to an adviser (c) Awaiting an adviser 
			 1993 Scheme 5,049,336 3,952,294 823,939 
			 2003 Scheme 29,291,987 19,565,593 1,390,568 
			 Note: When clients call they will be prompted by an automated system to enter the numeric part of their national insurance number, their date of birth and, if they have multiple cases, a child's date of birth for the case they are calling about. This time is included within (a) the total connected time but not in (b) speaking to an adviser, or (c) awaiting an adviser.

Telephone Services

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average cost per minute is to telephone the Child Support Agency or Child Maintenance Service from a (a) landline and (b) mobile telephone.

Steve Webb: The cost of calling the Child Support Agency or Child Maintenance Service will depend on the phone service provider, and also whether the call is being made from a landline or mobile. Where charges apply, the approximate cost of a call to any 0845 number can vary from 1p to 10.5p per minute from a landline, and from 12p to 41p per minute from a mobile.

Telephone Services

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will take steps to introduce an 080 Freephone number for callers to the Child Support Agency and Child Maintenance Service from (a) landlines and (b) mobile telephones.

Steve Webb: At present, the Child Support Agency and Child Maintenance Service have no plans to introduce 080 numbers for their inquiry lines but will be introducing 0345 telephone numbers from March 2014.

Telephone Services

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the total call minutes connected to the Child Maintenance Service has been since December 2012; and what the average time (a) speaking to an adviser and (b) waiting before speaking to an adviser has been in that time.

Steve Webb: Information on the 2012 Scheme administered by the Child Maintenance Service is currently available up to the end of September 2013. Experimental Statistics on the 2012 Scheme covering the period of August to September 2013 were published on 25 November 2013, and are available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ad-hoc-statistical-analysis-2013-quarter-4
	From December 2012 to September 2013 the total call minutes connected to the Child Maintenance Service was 254,820.
	During the same period, the average time spent speaking to an adviser was 12 minutes and 2 seconds with an average wait of 18 seconds before speaking to an adviser.

Winter Fuel Payments

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent discussions he has had on extending the winter fuel payment to people (a) on the higher rate of disability living allowance for care or mobility and (b) the enhanced rate of personal independence payment; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Webb: Winter fuel payments are targeted at older people because they are particularly vulnerable to the effects of cold weather-the elderly experience the greatest increase in deaths each winter. They provide an assurance that older people can keep warm during the colder winter months because they know they will receive significant help with their bills.
	Although, there are no current plans to extend the coverage of winter fuel payments we do recognise that disabled people of all ages can face extra costs due to their impairment. However, some will face higher heating costs whereas others, for example, will have to spend more on food because of special dietary requirements, or face higher than normal clothing replacement and laundry costs. General financial provision is currently made for people's different extra costs through disability living allowance (DLA) and personal independence payment (PIP).
	The contribution DLA provides can be substantial and it is flexible-recipients can choose to spend it on additional heating. That choice continues with PIP.

Work Programme

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  if he will take steps to ensure that people on the Work Programme who miss appointments to attend job interviews are not penalised;
	(2)  for what reasons people on the Work Programme are recorded as having missed appointment when the reason for missing the appointment is to attend a job interview.

Esther McVey: If a Work programme participant contacts their provider because they are unable to attend an appointment prior to it taking place, for example because of a job interview, the provider has flexibility to rearrange that appointment.
	When a provider mandates a participant to attend an appointment and they fail to attend without giving reason, the provider must raise a compliance doubt.

WOMEN AND EQUALITIES

Gender Recognition

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what (a) legislative and (b) non-legislative measures the Government has introduced to promote equal opportunities for transgender people in the UK since May 2010.

Helen Grant: The Government is strongly committed to advancing equality for transgender people. We have one of the world's strongest legislative frameworks to prevent and tackle discrimination on the grounds of gender and gender reassignment, among other protected characteristics.
	A number of legislative measures have been introduced since May 2010 which promote equal opportunities for transgender people. These include:
	the Equality Act 2010, which provides explicit protection from discrimination for transsexual people; and
	protection for the wider transgender community where discrimination is based on perception;
	the Gender Recognition (Approved Countries and Territories) Order 2011—the Gender Recognition Act 2004 allows people who have had a legal gender change in certain countries and territories to apply for a UK Gender Recognition Certificate under a simplified process. This order updates and expands the list of countries and territories;
	the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 2012, which amended the Criminal Justice Act 2003 to provide for sentences to be aggravated for any offence motivated by hostility towards the victim on the grounds of being transgender, and for a 30-year starting point for murders motivated by hostility towards the victim on the ground of being transgender; and
	the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013, which will enable couples to remain married where one partner seeks a legal gender change where both parties wish to remain married.
	“Advancing Transgender Equality: A Plan for Action”, the first action plan for transgender equality, was published in December 2011. It includes a range of largely non-legislative measures to improve the lives of transgender people in a number of areas of public policy, including hate crime, health, education and employment. A report on progress on delivering the commitments in this action plan will be published in due course.

HEALTH

Abortion

John Glen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department takes to identify illegal abortion referrals; whether the competence for such scrutiny rests with the Chief Medical Officer alone; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: Abortion is only legal if it is carried out within the terms of the Abortion Act 1967. This requires two doctors to form an opinion in good faith that one of the grounds for abortion set out in the Act is met. The Chief Medical Officer has written to doctors involved with abortion procedures to remind them about the need to comply with the Act, and the Department intends to produce further guidance to assist doctors with compliance with the Abortion Act.
	Notifications of all abortions performed are submitted to the Chief Medical Officer. Significant discrepancies are pursued with the practitioner who submitted the notification.
	Any allegations concerning abortions not performed under the terms of the Act should be referred to the police.

Animal Experiments

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding his Department has provided to (a) research councils funding animal research and (b) development of non-animal experimentation methods in each of the last five years.

Daniel Poulter: The Department's National Institute for Health Research focuses on clinical and health services research. It does not therefore fund research using animals, provide funding to research councils for such research, or fund the development of scientific methods to replace the use of animals.
	Estimated expenditure by the Health Protection Agency on work to replace, refine or reduce the use of animals in scientific procedures is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  £000 
			 2009-10 316 
			 2010-11 317 
			 2011-12 435 
			 2012-13 139 
		
	
	This expenditure supported intramural work.

Autism

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department has issued on the management of autism spectrum disorders within joint strategic needs assessments.

Norman Lamb: The 2010 Adult Autism Strategy for England Fulfilling and Rewarding Lives and its subsequent statutory guidance both promote Joint Strategic Needs Assessments (JSNAs), as the vehicle for health and social care services to plan for the needs of people with autism in their area.
	As part of the review of the strategy, last summer all 152 local authority areas took part in the second national self-assessment exercise on progress made in implementing the strategy. This exercise included a question on whether autism was included in the local JSNA. The Public Health England Learning Disabilities Observatory will shortly publish a full report of the information received from across the country. Local responses should be discussed by Health and Wellbeing Boards to support autism work and as evidence for local planning and JSNAs.

Cancer

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department has issued on diagnosis and treatment of patients found to have cancer of unknown primary foundation.

Jane Ellison: In July 2010, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence published the clinical guideline, “Metastatic malignant disease of unknown primary origin: Diagnosis and management of metastatic malignant disease of unknown primary origin”. This sets out best practice for clinicians on the diagnosis, treatment, care and support of patients whose primary site of cancer growth cannot be established.

Cholesterol

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what mechanisms will be in place in primary care to measure and treat high cholesterol in patients at high risk of premature death from heart disease after April 2014;
	(2)  whether a NHS Atlas of Variation for Cardiovascular Disease will be published in 2014;
	(3)  if he will request that NHS England installs universal systems to measure differences in the management of cholesterol in primary care in different clinical commissioning groups in England in April 2014.

Jane Ellison: The Government has an ambitious programme to improve public health through strengthening local action, behavioural changes and promoting healthy choices, and changing the environment to support healthier lives.
	The Department's Mandate for NHS England sets out the improvements in cardiovascular health and health care outcomes that the national health service is expected to deliver, and the priorities for improvement are reflected in both the NHS and Public Health Outcomes Frameworks. This includes supporting earlier diagnosis of illness by tackling issues such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol, which are both risk factors for coronary heart disease.
	We and NHS England expect clinicians in primary care to use their professional judgment to treat their patients according to best practice guidelines, including monitoring and treating high cholesterol in patients at high risk of premature death from heart disease.
	Public Health England does not intend to publish an Atlas of Variation for Cardiovascular Disease during 2014.
	NHS England has no plans to introduce universal systems to measure differences in the management of cholesterol in primary care in different clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) in England in April 2014.
	However, NHS England will use clinical data extracted from general practitioner practice systems to ensure continued transparency about quality and outcomes in relation to the monitoring of cholesterol. This will enable NHS England's commissioning teams, CCGs and the Care Quality Commission to take this information into account in reaching more rounded judgments about the quality of care provided by general practice.
	There are no specific indicators in the 2014-15 CCG Outcome Indicator Set (OIS) directly related to cholesterol. However, two wider indicators will include cholesterol checks within them. These are:
	people with severe mental illness who have received a set of physical checks; and
	people with diabetes who have received nine care processes.
	There are also a number of wider coronary heart disease related indicators included in the OIS.

Clinical Priorities Advisory Group

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the minutes all advice given to NHS England by the Clinical Priorities Advisory Group on (a) individual funding requests for the treatment of patients with stereotactic ablative radiotherapy and (b) funding requests for the prescription of cancer drugs not approved by the National Institute for Care Excellence.

Norman Lamb: At its January 2014 meeting, the Directly Commissioned Services Committee (an NHS England Board Committee) agreed the Clinical Priorities Advisory Group (CPAG) agenda and minutes would be published on the NHS England website once the recommendations are made.
	CPAG makes recommendations to the Directly Commissioned Services Committee on the commissioning of services where there could be a substantial change in service provision.
	CPAG does not have a role in giving advice for Individual Funding Requests or in relation to the Cancer Drugs Fund. Therefore, the minutes will not contain such information.

Dementia

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which local authorities have made dementia a public health priority.

Norman Lamb: Information on which local authorities have made dementia a public health priority is not held centrally.
	Local authorities are involved in both local Dementia Action Alliances and dementia-friendly communities and we encourage this involvement.
	Information about Dementia Action Alliances and those communities working towards becoming dementia-friendly was made available as part of our State of the Nation report published in November 2013. A copy of the report has been placed in the Library.

Electronic Cigarettes

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions his Department has had with EU institutions on maintaining free consumer access to electronic cigarettes without a prescription.

Jane Ellison: E-cigarettes that do not make a medical claim will not require a medicines licence and will be available as consumer products without a prescription.
	Those that do make a medicinal claim and are licensed under medicines regulation can be sold or supplied to reduce the harm of smoking to smokers and those around them-in accordance with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.

Equality

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many publications his Department has produced for the purposes of monitoring or promoting staff equality and diversity in each of the last five years; and what the cost of producing such publications was in each such year.

Daniel Poulter: The Department publishes an annual Public Sector Equality Duty Workforce Profile report—each January. It is not possible to distinguish costs on the publication of this report, as it is produced in-house by the Human Resources team. The report is published in electronic version with consideration given to accessibility, so no publication costs are involved.
	The promotion of equality and diversity within the Department generally uses the Department's intranet to communicate messages and best practice approaches. The Department occasionally holds awareness sessions to promote aspects of equality and diversity, which can involve material design and printing. It would incur disproportionate costs to establish the costs of such activities from other duties in the Department's Human Resources team.

Fertility: Males

Simon Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has funded on male fertility and sperm counts in the last 10 years; and if he will publish the findings of such research.

Daniel Poulter: In the last 10 years, the Department has funded no specific research on male fertility and sperm counts from central research and development budgets.
	The Public Health England (PHE) Centre for Radiation, Chemicals and Environmental Hazards (CRCE) does not have any specific research ongoing in respect of male sperm counts affecting fertility. PHE/CRCE does though have a small experimental research programme investigating whether the genetic material carried by sperm can be affected by environmental factors including chemicals. In conjunction with the Medical Research Council, PHE/CRCE has published work in the journal Epigenetics in 2012 showing that smoking can affect the composition of genetic material in sperm. The effect, if any, of this on fertility or the developing embryo was not determined. This work is continuing in PHE/CRCE.

Flour: Folic Acid

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what recent discussions his Department has had with its international counterparts on the mandatory fortification of flour with folic acid;
	(2)  what recent discussions his Department has had with UK and European food producers and importers on the mandatory fortification of flour with folic acid;
	(3)  when he expects to reach a decision on the mandatory fortification of flour with folic acid;
	(4)  what assessment he has made of the potential health costs and benefits of the mandatory fortification of flour with folic acid;
	(5)  what recent representations he has received on the mandatory fortification of flour with folic acid.

Jane Ellison: The Department has not had any recent discussions with international counterparts or United Kingdom and European food producers and importers on the mandatory fortification of flour with folic acid.
	The case for mandatory fortification of flour with folic acid is currently being considered. A decision will be made in the light of the latest evidence and when the most up to date data are available.
	The health costs and benefits of mandatory fortification of flour with folic acid will be considered in coming to a decision on whether or not to proceed with this policy.
	Over the last 12 months the Department has received representations from two members of the public, Shine, Professor Sir Nicholas Wald, the British Pregnancy Advice Service and the Flour Fortification Initiative calling for mandatory fortification of flour with folic acid.

General Practitioners

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many GP referrals have included a referral to a swimming pool or gym in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

Daniel Poulter: The requested information is not collected centrally.

General Practitioners: Leeds

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time is for a GP appointment in Leeds.

Daniel Poulter: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Genito-urinary Medicine

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the quality and availability of sexual health and HIV testing and prevention services in England; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: The Department has set out its ambitions to improve sexual health and wellbeing in “A Framework for Sexual Health Improvement”, which was published in March 2013. The framework highlights the importance of locally commissioned prevention services and the need to increase HIV testing to reduce undiagnosed and late diagnosis of HIV. It is for local authorities to decide on the provision of local sexual health prevention services. There are three sexual health indicators (including chlamydia diagnoses and late diagnosis of HIV) in the Public Health Outcomes Framework to assess outcomes on sexual health. The Department has removed the ban on the sale of HIV self-testing kits with effect from 6 April 2014.
	Sexual health and HIV testing services are provided through a variety of settings and by a variety of providers including primary care, community and outreach services, and hospital and specialist genitourinary medicine (GUM) services. Public Health England (PHE) collects data on all sexually transmitted infection (STI) and HIV diagnoses and services at all GUM clinics in England, and this is published in STI and HIV reports on the PHE website at:
	www.hpa.org.uk/Topics/InfectiousDiseases/InfectionsAZ/HiyAndSTIs/
	Table 1 provides the number, of sexual health screens provided at GUM clinics in England from 2009-12.
	Table 2 provides data on the uptake of HIV testing among all eligible STI episodes in England from 2009-12.
	
		
			 Table 1: Number of sexual health screens1 in England, by gender and sexual risk, 2009-12 
			  Number of sexual health screens1 
			 Gender 2009 2010 2011 2012 
			 Male 489,044 524,621 561,119 590,323 
			 Of which:     
			 MSM 52,708 63,371 85,061 98,922 
			      
			 Female 542,306 580,047 633,851 665,961 
			 Of which:     
			 WSW 1,693 1,772 8,666 8,764 
			      
			 Total 1,032,225 1,105,670 1,195,156 1,256,402 
			 1 A sexual health screen consists of a test for: (i) chlamydia and gonorrhoea, or (ii) chlamydia, gonorrhoea and syphilis, or (iii) chlamydia, gonorrhoea, syphilis and HIV. Notes: 1. Data are sourced from the Genitourinary Medicine Clinic Activity Data-set (GUMCADv2). 2. Data presented follow calendar years (January-December), not financial years (April-March). 3. Data represent sexual health, screens among people accessing services located in England who are also residents in England ie data excludes people accessing services located in England who are residents in Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland or abroad. 4. Data on sexual health screens reported with an unknown gender may be included in the gender total. 5. Data on sexual health screens reported with an unknown sexual risk may be included in the male and female totals. 6. Men who have sex with men (MSM) and women who have sex with women (WSW) reflect the sexual risk reported at the date of the patient attendance (ie recent exposure). 7. MSM includes men who reported being homosexual or bisexual. WSW includes women who reported being homosexual only. 8. Increases in sexual health screens by sexual risk may be the result of improved reporting of sexual orientation. 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: HIV test uptake in England, by gender and sexual risk, 2009-12 
			  Eligible new GUM episodes Offered 
			 Gender 2009 2010 2011 2012 2009 2010 2011 2012 
			 Male 629,296 667,715 702,929 717,978 495,688 532,631 563,633 586,780 
			 Of which:         
			 Heterosexual 461,514 513,877 550,763 561,718 372,866 417,199 447,680 465,945 
			 Of which:         
			 MSM 82,553 92,784 110,161 120,821 58,599 70,112 86,388 96,868 
			          
			 Female 705,902 761,810 825,199 849,885 544,112 583,425 627,156 651,453 
			 Of which:         
			 Heterosexual 600,802 684,846 757,241 793,997 468,589 531,256 585,835 616,779 
			 Of which:         
			 WSW 4,298 5,039 9,740 9,740 3,462 4,210 8,398 8,673 
			          
			 Total 1,336,421 1,430,744 1,528,383 1,568,009 1,040,653 1,116,945 1,190,958 1,238,337 
		
	
	
		
			  Tested Uptake (percentage) 
			 Gender 2009 2010 2011 2012 2009 2010 2011 2012 
			 Male 398,445 433,844 471,246 497,182 80 81 84 85 
			 Of which:         
			 Heterosexual 291,932 330,938 365,460 385,474 78 79 82 83 
			 Of which:         
			 MSM 52,701 64,016 80,083 90,698 90 91 93 94 
			          
			 Female 407,375 438,386 484,272 506,559 75 75 77 78 
			 Of which:         
			 Heterosexual 346,696 396,135 449,988 478,346 74 75 77 78 
			 Of which:         
			 WSW 2,817 3,414 6,823 6,870 81 81 81 79 
		
	
	
		
			          
			 Total 806,498 873,050 955,660 1,003,825 77 78 80 81 
			 Notes: 1. Data are sourced from the Genitourinary Medicine Clinic Activity Data-set (GUMCADv2). 2. Data presented follow calendar years (January-December) not financial years (April-March). 3. HIV test uptake data represent the number of HIV tests reported and not the number of people tested for HIV. 4. Data represent HIV tests among people accessing services located in England who are also residents in England ie data excludes people accessing services located in England who are residents in Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland or abroad. 5. 'Eligible new GUM episodes' exclude episodes by known HIV positive patients and episodes where a HIV test was not appropriate. 6. Increases in HIV test uptake may be the result of improved reporting of residence data. 7. Data reported with an unknown gender may be included in gender totals. 8. Age group category '<15' includes those aged 13-14 only. 9. Age group category 'other' includes those aged 0-12 and those with an unknown age. 10. Age group category '65+' includes those aged 65-99 only. 11. MSM and WSW reflect the sexual risk reported over a patient's entire clinic attendance history ie 'ever' exposure. 12. MSM includes men who reported being homosexual or bisexual. WSW includes women who reported being homosexual only. 13. Increases in STI numbers by sexual risk may be the result of improved reporting of sexual orientation.

Gynaecology

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reason hospital trusts use a pain score of 1 to 5 for hysteroscopy procedure rather than 1 to 10.

Norman Lamb: Health professionals are responsible for monitoring pain levels during and after a hysteroscopy procedure.
	There is no standard national pain scoring system but there are a number of different pain assessment tools available to health professionals. This means that methodology may vary between providers.

Hepatitis

Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what process NHS England uses to identify the funds required to treat hepatitis C as set out in the manual for prescribed specialised services in 2013-14.

Jane Ellison: Allocations for NHS England to commission hepatitis C services were established by estimating the service costs and drug costs of treating patients with hepatitis C at expert centres. NHS England uses a number of processes to continue refining allocations for the commissioning of specialised services such as hepatitis C treatments, and to ensure that it makes the most efficient and effective use of its budget, including the development of national commissioning policies and advice from Clinical Reference Groups supported by health technology appraisals.

HIV Infection

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has for the future funding of the HIV/AIDS support funding line after March 2015; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: As a transitional measure, for 2013-14 the Local Government Finance Settlement included additional financial information for local authorities to assist in their provision of HIV social care services. The Local Government Finance Settlement for 2014-15 and 2015-16 has now been published and it does not include information on funding for HIV social care. However, local authorities’ responsibilities for the social care needs of people with HIV are unchanged and they continue to receive funding for this as part of their formula grant.

HIV Infection

Alec Shelbrooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to implement a national screening programme for HIV.

Jane Ellison: Recommendations for HIV screening and testing are made by a number of bodies including Public Health England, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), the United Kingdom Chief Medical Officer's Expert Advisory Group on AIDS , the UK National Screening Committee (UKNSC), and professional organisations such as the British HIV Association and the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV.
	At present there is a national antenatal screening programme which offers screening to all pregnant women. NICE guidelines for most at risk groups (men who have sex with men and black African communities) recommend large scale HIV testing in primary and secondary care under certain circumstances, such as in areas of higher prevalence. In addition, HIV testing is offered to all attendees of genitourinary medicine clinics (GUM) clinics.
	The current approach is made up of a range of testing strategies combined with promotion through outreach to communities most at-risk of HIV infection. Around 2 million HIV tests are undertaken annually (excluding those on blood donors), most of which are performed in either GUM clinics or antenatal care services1.
	1 Health Protection Agency. HIV in the UK 2011 report. November 2011:
	www.hpa.org.uk/webc/HPAwebFile/HPAweb_C/1317131685847
	Further improvement of HIV testing provision is a high public health priority. Comprehensive public health surveillance data show that the HIV epidemic is not evenly spread across the UK. Given this situation it is uncertain whether a universal screening programme which would test the whole population would represent an appropriate response. However the UKNSC is commissioning a review of the evidence for a universal screening programme in adults. The Committee hopes to be in a position to consult on the review in early 2015.

HIV Infection: Leeds

Alec Shelbrooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the reasons are for differences in the rate of (a) diagnosed HIV and (b) proportion of late diagnosed HIV in Leeds compared to the national average; and what steps he is taking to address such differences.

Jane Ellison: Sexual health and HIV testing services are provided through a variety of settings and by a variety of providers including primary care, community and outreach services, and hospital and specialist genitourinary medicine (GUM) services.
	Table 1 provides late HIV diagnosis rates (CD4<350 cells/mm3 within three months of HIV diagnosis) among adults aged 15 years old or above who lived in Leeds local authority and in England using 2010 - 2012 three year combined data. Late HIV diagnosis rate in Leeds was 48% (95% confidence interval (CI): 45-58%), which is similar to 52% (95%CI: 47-49%) in England.
	Table 2 provides diagnosed HIV prevalence rate among individuals aged 15 years old or above who lived in Leeds local authority and in England. British HIV Association testing guidelines recommend expansion of HIV testing policies beyond the routine if the diagnosed HIV prevalence is above 2 per 1,000 population1. This guideline, ‘British HIV Association UK national guidelines for HIV testing 2008’, is available at:
	www.bhiva.org/documents/Guidelines/Testing/GlinesHIVTest08.pdf
	Expanded HIV testing is defined as the routine offer and recommendation of HIV testing in general medical services, e.g. general practice, or the establishment of HIV testing in other settings.
	
		
			 Table 1: Late HIV diagnosis among individuals (aged 15 years or above): Leeds local authority and England, 2010-12 
			 Area of residence Number of adults with a CD4<350 at diagnosis Number of adults diagnosed with HIV1 Late HIV diagnosis rate (%) Lower limit of 95% Confidence Interval Upper limit of 95% Confidence Interval 
			 Leeds 113 219 52 45 58 
			 England 6,489 13,447 48 47 49 
			 1 Only include adults who had a CD4 cell count report within three months of diagnosis and had residence information reported. 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Diagnosed HIV prevalence among individuals (aged 15 or above): Leeds local authority and England, 2012 
			 Area of residence Residents accessing HIV related care1 (aged 15 to 59) Estimated resident population in 1,000s2 (aged 15 to 59) Diagnosed HIV prevalence per 1,000 (aged 15 to 59) 
			 Leeds 1,048 475.2 2.2 
			 England 65,801 31,939.5 2.06 
			 1 Data from the Survey of Prevalent HIV Infections Diagnosed (SOPHID), Public Health England, 2012. 2 Data from the Office for National Statistics, mid -2012 estimates.

Home Care Services

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if his Department will collect statistics on the number of care visits which are shorter than 15 minutes;
	(2)  what guidance his Department provides on the length of time of care visits.

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to count the number of flying care visits.

Norman Lamb: The Department does not collect data on the detail of home care visits; instead, the focus of data collections is on the outcomes of social care so that we can understand more about how services are affecting people's lives.
	There may be some circumstances where short visits are appropriate as part of someone's package of care—for example, care workers calling in to make sure someone has taken their medicine. However, the Government's view is that, in most cases, very short visits for intimate care are incompatible with people's well-being, and we are taking action both legislatively and non-legislatively to address the issue. Commissioning practice needs to move away from overly prescriptive processes which focus only on price and time-slots, to consider how to do things differently and deliver better outcomes and quality care.
	The Care Bill, currently before Parliament, will send a clear message to local authorities in Clause 5 that commissioning services without properly considering the impact of those services on an individual's well-being is unacceptable. This will be amplified through statutory and other guidance that will describe the sorts of practice that are and are not acceptable. This guidance is being co-produced with a wide range of stakeholders, including local government and the Care and Support Alliance.
	In addition, the Department is actively working with the Association of Directors of Adult Social Care (ADASS) and the Local Government Association (LGA) to develop a set of commissioning standards for local authorities. These will enable local authorities to gauge how effectively they are commissioning in comparison to their peers, and support ADASS and the LGA to promote sector-led continuous improvement in commissioning.

Liver Diseases

Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when Public Health England will publish the modelling work it has undertaken on the effect of increased treatment on averting the future burden of hepatitis C-related end-stage liver disease.

Jane Ellison: The paper "Provision of care for patients with hepatitis C in England: future burden of HCV-related liver disease and impact of treatment under different scenarios" has been provisionally accepted for publication in a peer review journal. A final publication date has not yet been given.
	Some preliminary findings were published in the ‘Hepatitis C in the UK 2013 report’, on page 71 (see also Table 24 on page 86):
	www.hpa.org.uk/webc/HPAwebFile/HPAweb_C/1317139502302

Medical Records: Databases

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what target he has set of the level of public awareness of care.data before GPs can proceed with the upload of patient data;
	(2)  what steps he will take to consult patients and doctors during the six-month delay to the start of care.data;
	(3)  what steps he will take over the next six months to improve public awareness of care.data;
	(4)  what conditions of public awareness and consent must be met before the care.data extraction of patient data begins.

Daniel Poulter: Discussions are currently being undertaken by NHS England in collaboration with a range of stakeholders including the British Medical Association and the Royal College of General Practitioners to determine the future level of public engagement.

Medical Records: Databases

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether funding for care.data is in place for 2014-15 and future financial years.

Daniel Poulter: The Health and Social Care Information Centre is in the process of agreeing the scope of the care.data programme and the associated funding required with NHS England and with other members of the Informatics Services Commissioning Group.

Medical Records: Databases

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether patient data extracted as part of the care.data programme will be made available to countries outside the UK.

Daniel Poulter: There are no plans to make identifiable the data extracted as part of care.data available to countries outside the United Kingdom.

Medical Records: Databases

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the compatibility of the care.data programme with current human rights legislation.

Daniel Poulter: The ‘care.data’ programme is based on statutory powers set out in the Health and Social Care Act 2012 which take forward the ambitions set out in the Government's information strategy for health and care in England—‘The power of information’ published 2012. The 2012 Act was declared to be compatible with the Human Rights Act.

Medical Records: Databases

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether hospital records will be made available as part of care.data.

Daniel Poulter: Under the care.data programme, the intention is to link primary care data with Hospital Episode Statistics data. As with other data held by the Health and Social Care Information Centre, no information which identifies or could enable identification of an individual can be released without a legal basis to do so.

Medical Records: Databases

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health under which circumstances (a) the police and (b) the security services will be able to access patient data extracted as part of care.data.

Daniel Poulter: The circumstances by which access to patient data by the police and the security services will remain the same as now. A warrant or a court order would be required before the Health and Social Care Information Centre release any confidential information.

Medical Records: Databases

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many disclosures of NHS Secondary Uses Service data to non-NHS bodies have taken place in the last five years;
	(2)  how many audits of the use of NHS Secondary Uses Service data have been carried out in the last five years.

Daniel Poulter: NHS Secondary Uses Service (SUS) data has been disclosed to the Dr. Foster Unit based at Imperial College London, for the purpose of health research. The legal basis for this flow of data was established by the initial approval and subsequent annual renewal of a Section 251 request to the Ethics and Confidentiality Committee of the former National Information Governance Board. The Dr. Foster Unit at Imperial College has received 60 extracts of data from SUS in the last five years.
	SUS data has also been provided, in pseudonymised form, to the Department and the Audit Commission.
	There have been six audits within the last five years that have included audit of SUS data.

Medical Records: Databases

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 10 February 2014, Official Report, column 464W, on medical records: databases, whether care.data will be used in improving the care given to individual patients or in improving the overall provision of care.

Daniel Poulter: The purpose of care.data is to support a range of uses of data beyond direct care. These uses will support the overall provision of care in terms of services and research into treatments and will benefit both the general population as well as the individual patient.

Meningitis: Vaccination

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent written communication he has received from clinicians and healthcare professionals on the introduction of a meningitis B vaccine.

Jane Ellison: We received two letters from health care professionals, supporting the introduction of the meningitis B vaccine, Bexsero®. The first letter, which was received in January 2014, had 118 signatories. This letter was resent to the Department in February with an additional 167 signatories.
	These letters were sent by the Meningitis Research Foundation.

Meningitis: Vaccination

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  whether he received advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) on the introduction of a meningitis B vaccination programme on the NHS following the JCVI meeting of 11 February 2014;
	(2)  pursuant to the meeting of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation on 11 February 2014 and the report from the Chief Medical Officer Our Children Deserve Better, if he will ensure that all children in England have access to a meningitis B vaccine.

Jane Ellison: We are awaiting final advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) about the use of the meningococcal B vaccine, Bexsero®.
	The JCVI is due to report back in March 2014, having reviewed additional evidence at its meeting earlier this month.
	We will respond to any JCVI recommendation as quickly as possible.

NHS: Innovation

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the advice given to the Clinical Director for Specialised Services of NHS England by the Clinical Priorities Advisory Group and the Direct Commissioned Service Committee on the cancellation of the NHS Innovations budget.

Jane Ellison: NHS England advise that the decision to suspend the Specialised Services Commissioning Innovation Fund (SSCIF) was made by the executive team. The development of the SSCIF is outside the scope of Clinical Priorities Advisory Group. The executive team formed their decision balancing the issues of deliverability of the scheme alongside a significantly overspending financial position for specialised services.

Pain

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department has given to clinical commissioning groups on the number of pain management sessions which should be (a) funded and (b) funded for patients with painful progressive conditions.

Norman Lamb: NHS England allocates funding to clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), who commission health services on behalf of their local population.
	It is for local CCGs to decide how to best use the funding allocated to them, underpinned by clinical insight and knowledge of local health care needs.
	The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published a range of guidance on pain and pain management. This guidance represents evidence-based best practice and provides a clear description of what high-quality health and social care services look like, so that organisations can improve quality and achieve excellence.
	The Department expects CCGs to take into account any relevant NICE guidance as they design services to meet the needs of patients.

Palliative Care

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what guidance his Department has issued on the circumstances whereby a Do Not Resuscitate notice may be placed in a patient's file; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what safeguards exist to protect patients from having Do Not Resuscitate notices placed in their file without their meaningful consent.

Jane Ellison: The Department published a Health Service Circular to national health service trusts in September 2000 which asked NHS trust chief executives to “ensure that appropriate resuscitation policies which respect patients' rights are in place, understood by all relevant staff, and accessible to those who need them, and that such policies are subject to appropriate audit and monitoring arrangements”. The Circular commended as a basis for local policies the Joint Statement, ‘Decisions relating to Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation’, by the British Medical Association, the Resuscitation Council (UK) and the Royal College of Nursing. The Department reminded chief executives of their responsibility in February 2012.
	A decision not to attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), like other decisions not to attempt a particular form of medical treatment, does not require the patient's consent. However, as with all clinical decisions, healthcare staff are expected to be able to explain and defend their decisions to their employing authorities and their professional regulatory bodies.
	Professional guidance to the medical profession in the Joint Statement and in ‘Treatment and care towards the end of life: good practice in decision making’, by the General Medical Council, is clear that a decision that CPR should not be attempted must always be made on the basis of an individual assessment of each patient's case, and that communication and the provision of information are essential parts of good quality care. Both documents provide detailed guidance on consultation with the patient and those close to the patient.

Shingles: Vaccination

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to make shingles vaccination available to people between the ages of 70 and 79; and what his planned timetable is for achieving that end.

Jane Ellison: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation recommended that everyone aged 70 to 79 should be offered a shingles vaccine. A universal routine herpes zoster (shingles) vaccination programme for adults aged 70 started in September 2013.
	Vaccine supply for the national health service programme is at present limited, there is only enough vaccine to fully vaccinate two birth cohorts—the routine cohort (those aged 70 on 1 September 2013), and one catch-up cohort (those aged 79 on 1 September 2013). It was agreed the most equitable approach is to vaccinate those aged 79 years this year as they will be too old to be eligible for vaccination in 2014-15 (the efficacy of the vaccine declines after age 80).
	This is a progressive programme and all those aged between 70 and 79 will receive the vaccine as part of an annual catch-up programme. In 2014-15 it is planned to vaccinate those aged 78 on 1 September 2014 in an additional catch-up programme. However, how quickly the catch-up programme can be achieved is dependent on the availability of shingles vaccine in coming years, a matter which is being pursued actively by the Department and Public Health England officials.

Vitamin B12

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with NICE on developing new guidelines for diagnosing B12 deficiency including (a) an active B12 test, (b) Methylmalonic Acid tests and (c) assessment of the clinical picture; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Lamb: No such discussions have taken place.
	NHS England now commissions clinical guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). We are not aware of plans to ask NICE to develop guidance specifically on the diagnosis of B12 deficiency.

CABINET OFFICE

Debts: Chelmsford

Simon Burns: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the average change in the level of household (a) borrowing and (b) debt in Chelmsford constituency between 2008 and 2013.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Caron Walker
	On behalf of the Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the estimated annual change in the level of household (a) borrowing and (b) debt was between 2008 and 2013 in Chelmsford constituency (189437).
	The Office for National Statistics publishes details of the financial liabilities of households and non-profit institutions serving households (NPISH) combined. These data are only available at the United Kingdom level and hence data are not available for Chelmsford constituency.
	The UK data are published in the UK Economic Accounts for Quarter 3 published on 20th December 2013 which is available at:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/naa1-rd/united-kingdom-economic-accounts/q3-2013/index.html
	The most recent analyses on debt can be found in table A64 of this publication The most recent analyses on borrowing can be found in Tables A12 and A 55 of this publication.

Disability

Andy Sawford: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what proportion of working age adults are currently registered as disabled in (a) Corby and East Northamptonshire, (b) Northamptonshire, (c) the East Midlands and (d) England.

Nick Hurd: The information requested is not held by the Cabinet Office.

Driving: Licensing

George Galloway: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will contact Google management to ask them to remove from Google all unofficial websites asking for money for services provided by DVLA.

Francis Maude: This Government is already taking action to tackle rogue websites which masquerade as legitimate Government services, exaggerate the nature of the services they provide, or deliberately underplay the services that people can get for free or at a lower cost from official sources. We are working, and will continue to work, with organisations such as the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), the National Trading Standards Board (NTSB), Which? and search engines, including Google, to raise awareness of this issue and to ensure enforcement action is taken where appropriate.
	Misleading websites tend to come to the attention of the public as sponsored advertisements on search engine results pages. The Government Digital Service has been working with Google to identify advertisements which mislead consumers and have therefore breached Google's policies. As a result, Google has recently taken down a series of sponsored adverts.
	Ministerial colleagues and I have met with Google to discuss the enforcement of its policies for advertising on its search results pages We are providing them with clear information about Government services so that they can identify and take action against websites that add little or no value to existing online Government services. Google will continue to support us by removing those misleading adverts and by closing the accounts of repeat offenders.
	Members of the public can report misleading websites at:
	www.gov.uk
	from where they can make a complaint to Google and other search engines.

Prostate Cancer

Paul Burstow: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what assessment he has made of the trend in prostate cancer (a) one-year, (b) two-year and (c) five-year survival rates over the last 20 years; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated February 2014
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office what assessment has been made of the trend in prostate cancer (a) one-year, (b) two-year and (c) five-year survival rates over the last 20 years [189608].
	ONS publishes one and five-year cancer survival estimates for England, for a range of cancers including prostate cancer. Two-year cancer survival estimates are not available.
	The latest estimates available are for people diagnosed in 2007-2011 and followed up to 2012, These are provided in Table 1, with figures for each preceding period back to 1998-2001, with follow-up to 2003.
	Although prostate cancer survival estimates prior to the period 1998-2001 are available, these are not in a consistent time series so have not been included in Table 1.
	The latest published figures on cancer survival in England are available on the National Statistics website at:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/cancer-unit/cancer-survival/index.html
	The Scottish Cancer Registry produces statistics on cancer in Scotland. Statistics on cancer in Wales are produced by the Welsh Cancer Intelligence and Surveillance Unit. The Northern Ireland Cancer Registry produces statistics on cancer in Northern Ireland.

Prostate Cancer

Paul Burstow: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  how many deaths from prostate cancer there were in each (a) Government office region and (b) age group in each year since 1997;
	(2)  what the standardised mortality rate from prostate cancer was in each year since 1997, broken down by (a) Government office region and (b) parliamentary constituency.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent questions asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office:
	1. How many deaths from prostate cancer there were in each (a) Government Office region and (b) age group, in each year since 1997.
	2. What the standardised mortality rate from prostate cancer was in each year from 1997, broken down by (a) Government Office region and (b) parliamentary constituency.
	Table 1 provides the number of deaths where prostate cancer was the underlying cause of death, for each region in England, for deaths registered between 1997 and 2012 (the latest year available).
	Table 2 provides the age standardised mortality rate where prostate cancer was the underlying cause of death, for each region in England, for deaths registered between 1997 and 2012 (the latest year available).
	Copies of tables 1 and 2 have been placed in the House of Commons Library.
	Age standardised mortality rates for prostate cancer for each year from 1997 by parliamentary constituency have not been provided. This information is not readily available and could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Developing Countries: Abortion

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 10 February 2014, Official Report, columns 467-68W, on developing countries: abortion, whether the humanitarian principles observed by UK-funded organisations permit the procurement of abortions which are unlawful in the jurisdiction in which the aid is being given; and whether UN Security Council Resolution 2122(2013) imposes additional obligations in any other relevant respect.

Lynne Featherstone: Humanitarian principals require that organisations provide aid according to need and need alone. Provision of safe abortion services using UK development aid must be in line with the UK's policy position on safe and unsafe abortion. UKAID cannot be used to procure illegal services. UN Security Council Resolution 2122(2013) does not impose any additional obligations in this respect.

Developing Countries: Disability

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what mechanisms her Department has in place to assess and demonstrate the impact of the ENABLE programme on poverty reduction.

Justine Greening: All DFID programmes include monitoring arrangements to continually assess effectiveness and impact. Enhancing Nigerian Advocacy for a Better Business Environment (ENABLE) programme has been independently reviewed each year since the programme started.

Equality

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many publications her Department has produced for the purposes of monitoring or promoting staff equality and diversity in each of the last five years; and what the cost of producing such publications was in each such year.

Alan Duncan: In the last year two publications have been produced. While the cost associated with productions has been recorded for previous years it is not possible to supply the exact number of publications as the staff responsible for their production and delivery are no longer in place.
	The costs of doing so are published as follows:
	
		
			 £ 
			  2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 
			 1 Positive Action      
			 Reproduction and Printing Materials 2,568 — — — — 
			 Print Services 594 595 495 — — 
			 Books and Publications 2,338.24 — 610.35 2548.8 31.67 
			 Total 5,500.24 595 1,105.35 2,548.80 31.67 
			       
			 2 Diversity Networks      
			 Print Services 479.25 0 0 0 342 
			 Promotional advertising — — — — 28.08 
			 Total 479.25 0 0 0 370.08 
			       
			 Total 1 + 2 5,979.49 595 1,105.35 2,548.80 401.75

Palestinians

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps she is taking to ensure UK aid to Palestinian social assistance programmes is not used to compensate convicted terrorists.

Alan Duncan: DFID's financial support to the Palestinian Authority (PA) is subject to rigorous scrutiny. We have a number of safeguards in place to ensure our money is spent as intended and we keep these under constant review. These include extensive precautions to ensure that UK money does not support Hamas or other terrorist organisations either directly or indirectly, in compliance with UK and EU legislation on terrorist financing. UK funding to the Palestinian Authority is only used to pay civil servant salaries, and only named civil servants from a pre-approved list are eligible. The process is independently audited, which ensures we know exactly where and how our money is being spent.

Palestinians

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the role of UK aid to Palestine in encouraging a climate conducive to achieving a peaceful resolution to the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Alan Duncan: UK aid in the Occupied Palestinian Territories supports the UK Government's objectives for a successful Middle East Peace Process by helping to build Palestinian institutions and promoting economic growth, so that any future state will be stable, prosperous, well-run, and an effective partner for peace with Israel. Aid to the Palestinian Authority is helping to build credible and viable institutions as the basis of any future state. The Government firmly supports the current efforts of US Secretary Kerry and welcomes the leadership shown by Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Abbas. We continue to call on both parties to take the bold steps needed to allow US efforts to succeed, with the ongoing support of EU and Arab states, and the wider international community.

Palestinians

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much the Government gives annually in aid directly to the Palestinian authority; and how her Department audits how such money is spent.

Alan Duncan: DFID's Operational Plan committed £122 million from 2011 to 2015 in direct aid to the Palestinian Authority (PA). The UK made an additional contribution of £7.5 million in 2013. Our financial assistance to the Palestinian Authority is provided through the World Bank Palestinian Reform and Development Plan Trust Fund, which carries out close monitoring of PA expenditure and only transfers UK money to the PA during the year if the agreed reform plan is on track. The PA also publishes information on its expenditure, which we monitor. Independent audits of the use of DFID's funding by the PA are carried out every six months to provide an additional level of verification that the money has been used for the intended purposes.

Palestinians

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what provisions are in place to prevent water contamination and provide access to drinking water in Gaza.

Alan Duncan: The UK recently agreed to provide a further £10 million of support to the International Committee of the Red Cross, which includes providing access to clean water for over 60,000 people, including through building wastewater plants in Gaza. We also work closely with the UN, EU and others to monitor and assess humanitarian needs in Gaza, including access to drinking water. Discussions are ongoing regarding the construction of a desalination plant, the viability of which will be determined by the availability of a sustainable power supply.

Palestinians

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the availability of fresh drinking water for Palestinians in Gaza.

Alan Duncan: The Government is concerned about the availability of fresh drinking water for Palestinians in Gaza. According to the UN, over 90% of the water from the Gaza aquifer is unsafe for human consumption without treatment, and the coastal aquifer is set to become too polluted for use by 2016. Access to water is affected by a lack of rainfall, inadequate infrastructure, movement and access restrictions, and the inequitable distribution of water resources with Israel.

Uganda

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions her Department has had with civil society groups in Uganda on new laws on homosexuality in that country.

Justine Greening: FCO and DFID Ministers and Officials have had discussion with a wide range of civil society organisations, human rights defenders and LGBT groups, including Sexual Minority Rights Uganda.

Uganda

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions she has had with the Ugandan Government on new laws on homosexuality in that country.

Justine Greening: Both DFID and FCO Ministers and officials have met regularly with representatives of the Government of Uganda, including the Prime Minister, senior Ugandan Ministers and officials, to raise serious concerns on the Anti-Homosexuality Bill.

TREASURY

Equality

Dominic Raab: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many publications his Department has produced for the purposes of monitoring or promoting staff equality and diversity in each of the last five years; and what the cost of producing such publications was in each such year.

David Gauke: No costs have been incurred for publications monitoring or prompting staff equality and diversity in the last five years. The Treasury publishes data on its equality schemes on the Treasury website.

Excise Duties

Alec Shelbrooke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of how much the average UK consumer pays each year in (a) fuel duty, (b) alcohol excise duties and (c) tobacco duties.

John Leech: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much the average person pays each year in (a) fuel duty and (b) alcohol excise duty; and if he will make a statement.

Nicky Morgan: Estimates can be made of the duty paid by the average UK consumer each year by comparing HMRC published tax receipts with ONS published estimates of the adult population. The following table uses this method to estimate the payment of each duty requested per adult in 2012-13:
	
		
			 £ 
			  Fuel duty per adult Alcohol duties per adult Tobacco duties per adult 
			 2012-13 514 198 187

Financial Services

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects the Financial Conduct Authority to publish rules relating to peer-to-peer lending.

Sajid Javid: The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) consulted on draft rules for the peer to peer lending and crowdfunding sectors in autumn 2013 and will issue a policy statement shortly.

Income Tax

David Lammy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much tax was paid on residential rental income in (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012 and (d) 2013 in (i) the UK and (ii) Greater London.

Sajid Javid: The information requested is not available. It is not possible to distinguish rental income from residential property from other property income. In addition, both Income Tax and Corporation Tax aggregate many types of income and deductions. Consequently this does not generally allow a direct, accurate attribution of any tax arising to specific income sources.

Motor Vehicles: Excise Duties

Steven Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will meet with representatives of the Motorcycle Action Group and the British Motorcyclists Federation to consider the potential benefits of re-evaluating vehicle excise duty in the context of the Government's environmental targets.

Nicky Morgan: Treasury Ministers and officials receive a wide variety of representations from organisations in both the public and private sectors and welcome stakeholders' views as part of the annual Budget representations process. Guidance to submitting Budget representations is available online at:
	www.gov.uk/government/publications/budget-representations-guidance

Taxation: Banks

Paul Flynn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will introduce a one-off levy on bonuses given to investment bankers in 2014 to help fund measures needed to assist flood victims.

Sajid Javid: The Government is doing everything it can to support those affected by flooding, and has announced a package of measures to support affected homes and businesses. Further detail of the package of measures can be found here:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-floods-2014-government-response
	These measures are funded from general taxation, including of financial services activity. A Bank Levy is already in place, and it is currently forecast to raise £2.7 billion in 2014-15 and £2.9 billion a year thereafter.